Robber baron was a term revived in the 19th century in the United States as a pejorative reference to businessmen and bankers who dominated their respective industries and amassed huge personal fortunes, typically as a direct result of pursuing various allegedly anti-competitive or unfair business practices. The term may now be used in relation to any businessman or banker who is perceived to have used questionable business practices in order to become powerful or wealthy.
The term derives from the medieval German lords who illegally charged exorbitant tolls against ships traversing the Rhine river (see robber baron). There has been some dispute over the term's origin and use. It was popularized by U.S. political and economic commentator Matthew Josephson during The Great Depression in a 1934 book. He attributed its first use to an 1880 anti-monopoly pamphlet in which Kansas farmers applied it to railroad magnates. The informal term captains of industry may sometimes be used to avoid the negative connotations of "robber baron".
Impact on society
Some historians consider that the vast accumulation of wealth and power among the men known as robber barons constituted a substantial mis-allocation of resources across society. The harsh reality of the existence of robber barons in the United States inspired the 19th century economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen to write The Theory of the Leisure Class. In this work, Veblen argues that the modern businessman, including the international banker, is not different from a barbarian because he uses brute force, cunning and competitive skills to make money from others, and then lives off the spoils of conquests rather than producing things himself. Modern scholars, such as the Professor of Economics Robert Heilbroner, describe robber barons in a similar way. In his book The Worldly Philosophers Heilbroner claims that robber barons used deception, violence, kidnappings and extraordinary dishonesty to gain economic power and industrial supremacy. Hence they became known as robber barons.
Other historians argue that the robber barons were essential to the transformation of the United States into a world power, due to their significant investments in industry, infrastructure, and education. Novelist Ayn Rand stated that such men were among the "greatest humanitarians and the greatest benefactors of mankind who had ever lived because they had brought the 'greatest good' and an impossible standard of living - impossible by all historical trends - to the country in which they functioned."
New York City owes much of its monumental architecture and many of its museums to the generous patronage of these men, most notably Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Terminal, Cooper Union, The Frick Collection, Carnegie Hall and The Astor Library. Carnegie sought to encourage literacy and funded the establishment of 2,500 public libraries across the U.S. and around the world. However, the robber barons contributed minor fractions of their wealth to charity[citation needed], and during their lives they did not appear to have any particular inclination towards the perceived common good[citation needed]. Although men such as J. P. Morgan were sometimes noted for such misanthropic statements as "I owe the public nothing", Morgan neverthless made significant contributions to the arts and universities.
The cultural impact of the massive riches accumulated by the robber barons was influential in defining the American Dream as it appeared to prove that a "rags to riches" story was possible only in America. However, an 1870s study of 303 textile, railroad and steel executives, found that c.90% came from the upper or middle class[1].
List of businessmen who were called robber barons
- John Jacob Astor (real estate, fur) – New York City
- Andrew Carnegie (railroads, steel) – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Jay Cooke (finance) – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Daniel Drew (finance) – New York state
- James Buchanan Duke (tobacco) – near Durham, North Carolina
- James Fisk (finance) – New York state
- Henry Flagler (railroads) – New York City and Miami, Florida
- Henry Ford (automobile) – Dearborn, Michigan and metropolitan Detroit, Michigan
- Henry Clay Frick (steel) – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and New York City
- John Warne Gates (steel, oil) – Chicago and Texas
- Jay Gould (finance, railroads) – New York (both state and city)
- Edward Henry Harriman (railroads) – New York state
- Collis P. Huntington (railroads) – California, Virginia, and New York
- James J. Hill (railroads) – St. Paul, Minnesota
- J. P. Morgan (banking) – New York City. Presently JPMorgan Chase & Co.
- John D. Rockefeller (oil, the Standard Oil company) – New York City
- Leland Stanford (railroads) – Sacramento, California and San Francisco, California
- Cornelius Vanderbilt (railroads, shipping) – New York City
In popular culture
In popular American culture, robber barons were usually depicted as men in suits with black top hats and canes as typified by Rich Uncle Pennybags, the icon for the board game Monopoly.
References
- ^ Howard Zinn, p. 248; A People's History of the United States (2nd edition)
Books
- Burton Folsom, Jr.. The Myth of the Robber Barons. Herndon, VA: Young America's Foundation, 1993. ISBN 0-9630203-1-5
- Robert Heilbroner. The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times And Ideas Of The Great Economic Thinkers. Touchstone, 1999. ISBN 0-684-86214-X
- Matthew Josephson. The Robber Barons: The Great American Capitalists, 1861-1901, San Diego: Harcourt, 1995. ISBN 0-15-676790-2
- Howard Zinn. A People's History of the United States: 1492-present, HarperCollins, 2003 ISBN 0-06-052842-7
- Charles R. Morris. The Tycoons: How Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J. P. Morgan Invented the American Supereconomy. Times Books, 2005. ISBN 0-8050-7599-2
See also
External links
- The Robber Barons: The Great American Capitalists 1861-1901 a 1934 book by Matthew Josephson
- History of the Great American Fortunes, book by Gustavus Myers
- Robert LeFevre's Lecture on the Robber Barons in MP3 Format from the Ludwig von Mises Institute
- American Wealth in the Gilded Age accessed March 29, 2006