Lesson Plan

The Industrial Age in America: Robber Barons and Captains of Industry

Photo caption

Lower New York City, early 1900s.

"This, then, is held to be the duty of the man of wealth: First, to set an example of modest, unostentatious living, shunning display or extravagance; … and, after doing so, to consider all surplus revenues which come to him simply as trust funds, which he is called upon to administer… to produce the most beneficial results for the community—the man of wealth thus becoming the mere trustee and agent for his poorer brethren, bringing to their service his superior wisdom, experience and ability to administer, doing for them better than they would or could do for themselves."

—Andrew Carnegie, North American Review (1889)

Though a century has passed since the heyday of the great industrialists and financiers, debate continues: were these men captains of industry, without whom this country could not have taken its place as a great industrial power, or were they robber barons, limiting healthy competition and robbing from the poor to benefit the rich? Where do we draw the line between unfair business practices and competition that leads to innovation, investment, and improvement in the standard of living for everyone? Would the industrial economy have succeeded without entrepreneurs willing to take competition to its extremes?

This lesson may be taught either as a stand-alone lesson or as a complement to another EDSITEment lesson The Industrial Age in America: Sweatshops, Steel Mills, and Factories.

Guiding Questions

What various practices of industrialists/financiers led to their being labeled "robber barons" and "Captains of industry"?

How shall we judge the contributions to American society of the great financiers and industrialists at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries?

Does the industrialization of America at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century hold any lessons for us today?

Learning Objectives

Explain the terms "robber baron" and "captain of industry" within the context of the time.

Evaluate the actions taken by various captains of industry and robber barons of the time.

Synthesize information from primary and secondary sources to create a position on the compelling questions.

Lesson Plan Details

Background

The U.S. History Crash Course video on The Industrial Economy provides background and context on economic changes related to industrialization that occurred in the United States following the Civil War.

For concise background information on the industrialists/financiers of the early Industrial Age in the United States, consult the following resources:
- General Summary of Major Events (1876-1925): Timeline: Events of 1876-1999 on the EDSITEment resource Learner.org
- Andrew Carnegie: The Two Andrews from American Experience, a link from the EDSITEment resource Internet Public Library
- John D. Rockefeller: John D. Rockefeller Timeline from American Experience: The Rockefellers .
- Cornelius Vanderbilt: Cornelius Vanderbilt from the New York Times
In this lesson, you and your students will attempt to establish a distinction between robber barons and captains of industry. Students will uncover some of the less honorable deeds as well as the shrewd business moves and highly charitable acts of the great industrialists and financiers. It has been argued that only because such people were able to amass great amounts of capital could our country become the world's greatest industrial power. Some of the actions of these men, which could only happen in a period of economic laissez faire, resulted in poor conditions for workers, but in the end, may also have enabled our present day standard of living.

Content Standards

NCSS.D1.2.9-12. Explain points of agreement and disagreement experts have about interpretations and applications of disciplinary concepts and ideas associated with a compelling question.

NCSS.D2.His.1.9-12. Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.

NCSS.D2.His.2.9-12. Analyze change and continuity in historical eras.

NCSS.D2.His.3.9-12. Use questions generated about individuals and groups to assess how the significance of their actions changes over time and is shaped by the historical context.

NCSS.D2.His.4.9-12. Analyze complex and interacting factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras.

NCSS.D2.His.5.9-12. Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.

NCSS.D2.His.12.9-12. Use questions generated about multiple historical sources to pursue further inquiry and investigate additional sources.

NCSS.D2.His.14.9-12. Analyze multiple and complex causes and effects of events in the past.

NCSS.D2.His.15.9-12. Distinguish between long-term causes and triggering events in developing a historical argument.

NCSS.D2.His.16.9-12. Integrate evidence from multiple relevant historical sources and interpretations into a reasoned argument about the past.

Lesson Activities

Activity 1. Meet Some Real Robber Barons

The above video from the Bill of Rights Institute provides historical context to understand why and how the early industrialists thrived. Use your class text or other classroom resources, or refer to either or both of the following interactive timelines available on the EDSITEment-reviewed website Learner.org:

Events of 1876–1999 (but focus on 1876–1925)
Interactive Timeline: Inventions 1868–1898

Introduce your students to some individuals for whom the label "robber baron" is universally regarded as appropriate. Jim Fisk and Jay Gould clearly earned the title because they did not contribute to building something such as a railroad system. Instead, they destroyed such systems through clearly illegal actions and disregard for anyone else. Their actions hurt the economy of the United States. Read their story with—or to—the class from The Robber Barons, available on the PBS website, a link from the EDSITEment resource Internet Public Library. Now read with—or to—the class from The Panic of 1873, also on PBS. Ask students to explain why Jay Cooke deserves the title "robber baron."

Such behavior as Fisk's, Gould's, and Cooke's clearly fits the criteria for a robber baron. Tell the class that the label cannot always be applied with such assurance. What if an action is illegal but leads to a positive end? What if a legal action ends with many workers or consumers suffering?

Part of the students' job in Activity 2, below, will be to evaluate situations that are similarly ambiguous in the life histories of famous industrialists.

Activity 2. Robber Barons or Captains of Industry?

Divide the class into four student groups (or eight, if you'd like each industrialist/financier to be researched by two groups). Assign one of the individuals below to each group. Distribute to the groups the chart "Robber Baron or Captain of Industry?" (PDF). Using the following resources and/or any other approved sources available in your classroom or online, each group should fill in the chart for their assigned individual.

Andrew Carnegie

"It shall be the rule for the workman to be Partner with Capital, the man of affairs giving his business experience, the working man in the mill his mechanical skill, to the company, both owners of the shares and so far equally interested in the success of their joint efforts."

—Andrew Carnegie

From the EDSITEment resource American Memory
- Today in History
- Edgar Thomson Works, Carnegie Steel Co (Click on any of the images for photographs.)
From America's Library, a link from the EDSITEment resource American Memory
- Andrew Carnegie
- Andrew Carnegie Grows Up Working (Click "Next" for succeeding pages.)
- Andrew Carnegie and His Parents (Click "Next" for succeeding pages.)
- Andrew Carnegie Philanthropist (Click "Next" for succeeding pages.)
From The Richest Man in the World: Andrew Carnegie on The American Experience, a link from the EDSITEment resource Internet Public Library (NOTE: This site contains a great deal of information and documents relating to Carnegie, including those listed below.)
Letters about the Homestead Strike
Information about the Carnegie Mansion
Carnegie Biography
The American Experience | Andrew Carnegie | Gilded Age
How to Succeed in Life by Andrew Carnegie
The Gospel of Wealth on The Internet Modern History Sourcebook, an extension of the EDSITEment resource The Internet Medieval Sourcebook

Cornelius Vanderbilt

"I have been insane on the subject of moneymaking all my life."

—Cornelius Vanderbilt

"You have undertaken to cheat me. I won't sue you, for the law is too slow. I'll ruin you."

—Cornelius Vanderbilt

From the EDSITEment resource HarpWeek
- Cartoon, "The Great Race for the Western Stakes" (and brief text)
A Business Biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt, available via a link from the EDSITEment resource Links to the Past
"Cornelius Vanderbilt" and "The Erie Railroad Wars" (move down the page until you locate the sections entitled "Cornelius Vanderbilt" and "The Erie Railroad Wars") from American History 102: Civil War to the Present, a link from the EDSITEment resource History Matters.

J. Pierpont Morgan

From the EDSITEment resource Learner.org
- Labor Union versus Morgan
Brief Biography from The American Experience, a link from the EDSITEment resource Internet Public Library
Biography of Morgan from Morgan Library a link from the EDSITEment resource American Memory
First Public Demonstration of Edison's Light Bulb from America's Library, a link from the EDSITEment resource American Memory
Morgan Finances Edison on The Smithsonian Museum of American History. (Note: This archival document and the previous article are here for their reference to Morgan as one of Edison's "main investors," showing how a financier like Morgan contributed to the American economy and quality of life.)

John D. Rockefeller

When the groups are finished with their research, have each present its conclusions and supporting evidence to the class. Is each assigned figure a robber baron or captain of industry or something in-between? Which of the individuals' actions were those of a captain of industry? Of a robber baron?

From American Experience: The Rockefellers from PBS
Standard Oil of New Jersey (move down the page until you locate the section entitled "Standard Oil of New Jersey")

Activity 3. Responding to the Workers

Read with—or to—the class any or all of the following pieces, available on the EDSITEment resource History Matters, written by workingmen and published in newspapers or magazines during the heyday of the industrialists.

How do students believe their assigned industrialist would respond to these pieces? Either in groups or individually, have students write a hypothetical letter to the editor in response.

Lesson Extensions

On June 1, 2000, then—U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno said this in reference to the controversy over Bill Gates and Microsoft: "America was not made the industrial giant of the world by the robber barons alone. It was made the industrial giant of the world by competition, by encouraging new developments, by encouraging young entrepreneurs to break into the market. It's the best system I've seen so far." Does Microsoft constitute an unfair monopoly? Students can read a detailed timeline of Bill Gates' life from NPR.org They can also read a related editorial by James Gleick featured on American History 102: Civil War to the Present, a link from the EDSITEment-reviewed website History Matters. Is Bill Gates a captain of industry or a robber baron?
The Richest Man in America: Andrew Carnegie, available on the American Experience.

Recommended Websites

Materials & Media

The Industrial Age in America: Robber Barons and Captains of Industry - Worksheet

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Related on EDSITEment