1 / 25

The Rise of Big Business in America: Fortunes, Corruption, and Philanthropy

Explore the growth of big business in the US, from Robber Barons to Captains of Industry, and the methods used to accumulate wealth post-Civil War. Learn about key figures like Carnegie, Rockefeller, and JP Morgan, and their impact on society through vertical and horizontal consolidation, trusts, and philanthropic endeavors. Discover the legacy of these industrialists and how they spent their vast fortunes on art, education, and social causes.

caine
Download Presentation

The Rise of Big Business in America: Fortunes, Corruption, and Philanthropy

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. AP US HistoryHow to make… & spend… a fortune! Bell Work: What is a cartel? How about a trust? What is a business cycle? What do you think the difference is between the “Captain of Industry” or “Robber Barons”?

  2. The Growth of Big Business • Robber Barons- individuals who exploited the American political and economic system in order to gain extraordinary amounts of wealth at the expense of workers and immigrants.

  3. The Growth of Big Business • Captains of Industry- individuals who had a positive effect on the US economy by increasing the number of goods, developing more factories, and practicing philanthropic activities.

  4. How do you make a fortune? • What allowed individuals to make so much money after the Civil War?

  5. Post Civil War Conditions • In large part, wealth was made through exploitation of the government and workers but also through ingenious (and sometimes illegal) business practices.

  6. Post Civil War Conditions • Essentially the first business moguls made their dough via the following… • Closing of the West. • Social Darwinism • Developing of the Trust

  7. Railroad industry- Government Subsidized • Cheap Land= the government • Cheap Labor= immigrants • Cheap Capital (steel)= Carnegie • Cheap Loans= Morgan

  8. Corruption begins with the railroads… • Credit Mobilier Scandal- Oakes Ames (Union Pacific RR) • Cornelius Vanderbilt, Leland Stanford

  9. Corruption also found its way into the government • Whiskey Ring Scandal- Tax Fraud (Grant’s Dep. Of Treasury and Orville Babcock) • Bureau of Indian Affairs • Gold Corner- Jay Gould

  10. Big Ones… • Yet, despite government corruption, these events were small change compared to the Robber Barons like Carnegie, Rockefeller, and JP Morgan.

  11. Andrew Carnegie • Scottish immigrant, son of a expert weaver • Rags to riches (1.20 dollars an hour to a billionaire) • Wealth through the Bessemer Process • With help of JP Morgan, starts US Steel

  12. Andrew Carnegie

  13. Vertical Consolidation • Buy all the items of production and corner the market. • Cheaper products attack competition (economy of scale). • Social Darwinism- may the best man win; apply Darwinism to business (government should encourage)

  14. John Rockefeller • At first a railroad baron • Invested in black gold= oil • Standard Oil- bought off legislatures, secret railroad deals, bribes, and sabotage

  15. John Rockefeller

  16. Horizontal Consolidation • Buy all the small companies and then monopolize the market. Undercut other business through rebates and secret deals. • "In a business so large as ours … some things are likely to be done which we cannot approve. We correct them as soon as they come to our knowledge.” • Illegal if crosses state lines= anti-trust laws

  17. Samuel Dodds- Trust • -Get around anti-monopoly laws, can’t hold stock in another company. • -Develop a board of trustees, issuing trust certificates (holding companies) • Trusts keep prices artificially high due to no competition while making wages extremely low.

  18. JP Morgan • Banker’s banker. • Made millions off of the Civil War (wise investments) • Controlled nearly half of all the railroads in America • Invested into Carnegie Steel- US Steel (party)

  19. JP Morgan

  20. How To Spend a Fortune • Gospel of Wealth- people should be free to make as much money as they can. Afterwards, they should give it away- philanthropy. • Carnegie… $350,695,654 in his life. • “A man who dies rich dies disgraced”

  21. How To Spend a Fortune • Andrew Carnegie- Carnegie Hall, the arts, libraries, study on how to end war (Carnegie Institute). • John Rockefeller- universities, churches, anti-saloon league (10% of paychecks) • JP Morgan- Yachts, art collections • Captains or Barons? Legacy of big business?

  22. How to Spend a Fortune

  23. The Homes… Rocky…

  24. Carnegie- Scotland

  25. JP Morgan

More Related