How did robber barons get their name?
The term robber baron derives from the Raubritter (robber knights), the medieval German lords who charged nominally illegal tolls (unauthorized by the Holy Roman Emperor) on the primitive roads crossing their lands or larger tolls along the Rhine river.
What does the term robber baron refer to?
Definition of robber baron 1 : an American capitalist of the latter part of the 19th century who became wealthy through exploitation (as of natural resources, governmental influence, or low wage scales) 2 : a business owner or executive who acquires wealth through ethically questionable tactics.
What is a robber baron and where did the term originate quizlet?
Robber Baron definition. A term used in the 19th century in the U.S as a negative reference to business men and bankers who dominated their respective industries and amassed huge personal fortunes, typically as a direct result of pursuing various anti-competitive or unfair business practices! Andrew Carnegie.
Who was the first to be called a robber baron?
Cornelius VanderbiltCornelius Vanderbilt (1794–1877) was a shipping and railroad tycoon who built himself up from nothing to become one of the wealthiest individuals in 19th century America. He was the first person to be called robber baron, in an article in "The New York Times" on February 9, 1859.
Who were the 4 main robber barons?
Four men in particular made names - and, subsequently, much money - for themselves during this time: JP Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie. JP Morgan was born John Pierpont Morgan on April 17, 1837. He dominated the banking and finance industry during the Gilded Age.
Who is a robber baron today?
Today's so-called robber barons or captains of industry run digital monopolies, using similar 19th century tactics to drive out competition, exploit customer's personal information, avoid taxes and engage in highly unethical business practices.
Who did the term robber barons refer to and who used this term quizlet?
"Robber Barons" Negative term for people who they believed were thefts. "Captains of Industry"
What does the term robber baron refer to quizlet?
robber barons. Refers to the industrialists or big business owners who gained huge profits by paying their employees extremely low wages. They also drove their competitors out of business by selling their products cheaper than it cost to produce it.
What did robber barons believe?
Robber Barons used the ideas of Social Darwinism, the notion that corporate consolidations provided social mobility and opportunity, and the great economic prosperity available to justify the existence of monopolies.
Why did some observers refer to these captains of industry as robber barons?
People called the leaders "captains of industry" because they admired their vision, skills, and ability to invest in worldwide ventures that employed people. Others called them "robber barons" because they thought they were destroying the laissez-faire economy through questionable business activity.
Who was the biggest robber baron?
John D. Rockefeller controlled much of the American oil industry during the late 19th century and his business tactics made him one of the most notorious of the robber barons.
What is a robber baron?
Robber baron, pejorative term for one of the powerful 19th-century American industrialists and financiers who made fortunes by monopolizing huge industries through the formation of trusts, engaging in unethical business practices, exploiting workers, and paying little heed to their customers or competition. Alternatively, those who credit the ...
What were the antecedents of organized crime?
In turn, these monopolies were built upon the liberal use of tactics that are today the hallmark of organized crime: intimidation, violence, corruption, conspiracies, and fraud.
What is organized crime?
organized crime, complex of highly centralized enterprises set up for the purpose of engaging in illegal activities. Such organizations engage in offenses such as cargo theft, fraud, robbery, kidnapping for ransom, and the demanding of “protection” payments. The principal source of income for these criminal syndicates is the supply of…
Who was the governor of California in 1861?
Leland Stanford. Leland Stanford became involved in Republican politics in California and was elected governor in 1861. While governor, Stanford approved millions of dollars in state grants for the construction of a transcontinental railroad line during a period when he was also president of the Central Pacific Railroad.
Where did the term "robber baron" come from?
The term robber baron derives from the Raubritter ( robber knights ), the medieval German lords who charged nominally illegal tolls (unauthorized by the Holy Roman Emperor) on the primitive roads crossing their lands or larger tolls along the Rhine river.
Who used the term "robber baron"?
During the Occupy Wall Street protests of 2011, the term was used by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in his attacks on Wall Street. The business practices and political power of the billionaires of Silicon Valley has also led to their identification as robber barons.
What is a robber baron?
Robber baron is a derogatory term of social criticism originally applied to certain wealthy and powerful 19th-century American businessmen. The term appeared as early as the August 1870 issue of The Atlantic Monthly magazine. By the late 19th century, the term was typically applied to businessmen who used exploitative practices to amass their ...
Why is Jeff Bezos considered a robber baron?
The leaders of Big Tech companies have all been described as being modern-day Robber Barons, particularly Jeff Bezos because of his influence on his newspaper, The Washington Post. Their rising wealth and power stands in contrast with the shrinking middle class.
What is the meaning of the term "baron"?
The term combines the sense of criminal ("robber") and illegitimate aristocracy (a baron is an illegitimate role in a republic).
Who wrote the book The Robber Barons?
In his book The Robber Barons: The Great American Capitalists 1861-1901, Matthew Josephson argued that the industrialists who were called robber barons have a complicated legacy in the history of American economic and social life. In the book's original Foreword, he claims the robber barons:
When did Stanford University use the nickname "Robber Barons"?
In 1975 the student body of Stanford University voted to use "Robber Barons" as the nickname for their sports teams. However, school administrators disallowed it, saying it was disrespectful to the school's founder, Leland Stanford.
Where did the term "robber baron" come from?
The first known uses of the phrase “robber baron” described feudal lords in medieval Europe who robbed travelers, often merchant ships along the Rhine River as they passed nearby. The term appeared in American newspapers in 1859. Its modern use stems from Matthew Josephson’s The Robber Barons (1934).
What Is a Robber Baron?
A robber baron is one of America’s successful industrialists during the 19th century, which was also known as the Gilded Age. A robber baron is a term that is also sometimes attributed to any successful businessperson whose practices are considered unethical or unscrupulous. This behavior can include employee or environmental abuse, stock market manipulation, or deliberately restricting output to charge higher prices.
What were robber barons accused of?
Robber barons were accused of being monopolists who earned profits by intentionally restricting the production of goods and then raising prices.
How did the robber barons become wealthy?
Hill, Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and John D. Rockefeller —became wealthy entrepreneurs through product innovation and business efficiency. Of the goods and services they provided, supply grew, and prices fell rapidly, greatly boosting Americans’ standards of living. This is the opposite of monopolistic behavior.
What was the chief complaint against the 19th century capitalists?
A chief complaint against the 19th-century capitalists was that they were monopolists. Fear over the robber barons and their monopoly practices increased public support for the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 . Economic theory says a monopolist earns premium profits by restricting output and raising prices.
What were the criticisms of the early robber barons?
Among common criticisms of the early robber barons included poor working conditions for employees, selfishness, and greed. Some robber barons—including Robert Fulton, Edward K. Collins, and Leland Stanford—earned their wealth through political entrepreneurship.
Who wrote the book The Robber Barons?
Its modern use stems from Matthew Josephson ’s The Robber Barons (1934). Robber barons were widely despised and considered rapacious monopolists during their lifetimes. However, later biographies and historical reviews about the Gilded Age’s American robber barons cast a more complicated and favorable light.
What is a robber baron?
Robber Baron is a term used for the business tycoons of the USA during the nineteenth century. This period was also known as the gilded age.
Why are robber barons called captains of the industry?
Robber Barons were often termed captains of the industry because they drove the US economy upwards and took it to newer heights. The term captain of the industry refers to trailblazers in commerce for significant economic growth. The Barons versus Captains of the Industry debate revolves around the business ethics in the contemporary era. It weights economic growth against its cost or possible downsides. The Barons were highly celebrated icons in the public eye for boosting the economy and incessant charity despite debatable business ethics.
What were the ways that barons used to monopolize their business?
Businessmen used ways that are considered illegal today these included labor exploitation, violence, fraud, coercion, undue influence, and corruption.
Why did Rockefeller and Ford prefer to work for Barons?
Many even preferred working for some of these barons owing to excessive remuneration, paid vacations, and hefty bonuses . Rockefeller and Henry Ford had a reputation for paying well above industry standards.
Is Robber Barons a good or bad person?
Robber Barons cannot be boxed into the good or bad category. Without a doubt, they used unethical and deceitful means to achieve what they achieved. But in doing so, they also created massive employment advancing the nation’s economy.
Where did the term "baron" come from?
The term baron is taken from derives from the German word Raubritter. Raubritter means Robber knights. These Knights exploited the travellers by charging unauthorized tolls for crossing the land and crossing the river Rhine.
Who were the barons?
Some of the popular barons include Henry Ford, James J Hill, James Fisk, and John Jacob Astor.
What is a robber baron?
A robber baron or robber knight ( German: Raubritter) was an unscrupulous feudal landowner who, protected by his fief 's legal status, imposed high taxes and tolls out of keeping with the norm without authorization by some higher authority. Some resorted to actual banditry.
What did medieval robbers do?
Medieval robber barons most often imposed high or unauthorized tolls on rivers or roads passing through their territory. Some robbed merchants, land travelers, and river traffic—seizing money, cargoes, entire ships, or engaged in kidnapping for ransom.
What was the Rhine League's procedure for dealing with robber barons?
The procedure pioneered by the Rhine League for dealing with robber barons – to besiege, capture and destroy their castles – survived long after the League self-destructed from political strife over the election of a new Emperor and military reversals against unusually strong robber barons.
How many robber castles were destroyed in the Rhine League?
In the next three years, four robber barons were targeted and between ten and twelve robber castles destroyed or inactivated. The Rhine League was not only successful in suppressing illicit collection of tolls and river robbery, they also took action against other state aggression.
How did robber barons violate the custom under which tolls were collected on the Rhine?
Some robber barons violated the custom under which tolls were collected on the Rhine either by charging higher tolls than the standard or by operating without authority from the Holy Roman Emperor altogether. During the period in the history of the Holy Roman Empire known as the Great Interregnum (1250–1273), the number of such tolling stations exploded in the absence of Imperial authority.
What did the Rhine League learn from the Interregnum?
When the Interregnum ended, the new king Rudolf of Habsburg applied the lessons learned by the Rhine League to the destruction of the highway robbers at Sooneck, torching their castles and hanging them. While robber barony never entirely ceased, especially during the Hundred Years' War, the excesses of their heyday during the Interregnum never recurred.
Overview
Robber baron is a derogatory term of social criticism originally applied to certain wealthy and powerful 19th-century American businessmen. The term appeared as early as the August 1870 issue of The Atlantic Monthly magazine. By the late 19th century, the term was typically applied to businessmen who purportedly used exploitative practices to amass their wealth. These practices included ex…
Usage
The term robber baron derives from the Raubritter (robber knights), the medieval German lords who charged nominally illegal tolls (unauthorized by the Holy Roman Emperor) on the primitive roads crossing their lands or larger tolls along the Rhine river.
The metaphor appeared as early as February 9, 1859, when The New York Times used it to characterize the business practices of Cornelius Vanderbilt. Historian T.J. Stiles says the metap…
Criticism
Historian Richard White argues that the builders of the transcontinental railroads have attracted a great deal of attention but the interpretations are contradictory: at first very hostile and then very favorable. At first, White says, they were depicted as:
Robber Barons, standing for a Gilded Age of corruption, monopoly, and rampant individualism. Their corporations were the Octopus, devouring all in its path. In the twentieth century and the t…
Recent approaches
In the popular culture the metaphor continues. In 1975 the student body of Stanford University voted to use "Robber Barons" as the nickname for their sports teams. However, school administrators disallowed it, saying it was disrespectful to the school's founder, Leland Stanford.
In academe, the education division of the National Endowment for the Humanities has prepared a lesson plan for schools asking whether "robber baron" or "captain of industry" is the better termi…
List of businessmen labelled as robber barons
The people here are listed in Josephson, Robber Barons or in the cited source,
• John Jacob Astor (real estate, fur) – New York
• Andrew Carnegie (steel) – Pittsburgh and New York
• William A. Clark (copper) – Butte, Montana
See also
• Business magnate
• Business oligarch
• Media proprietor
Further reading
• Beatty, Jack. (2008). Age of Betrayal: The Triumph of Money in America, 1865–1900 Vintage Books. ISBN 1400032423
• Bridges, Hal. (1958) "The Robber Baron Concept in American History" Business History Review (1958) 32#1 pp. 1–13 in JSTOR
• Burlingame, D.F. Ed. (2004). Philanthropy in America: A comprehensive historical encyclopaedia (3 vol. ABC Clio).
External links
• Full Show: The New Robber Barons. Moyers & Company. December 19, 2014. Interview with historian Steve Fraser
• Industrial Age in America: Robber Barons or Captains of Industry EDSITEment lesson from National Endowment for the Humanities
• Robber Barons, Oil, and Power from 1860 - Daniel Sheehan, University of California Santa Cruz, "The Trajectory of Justice in America 2019, Class #5"
What Is A Robber Baron?
Understanding Robber Barons
- The first known uses of the phrase “robber baron” described feudal lords in medieval Europe who robbed travelers, often merchant ships along the Rhine River as they passed nearby. The term appeared in American newspapers in 1859. Its modern use stems from Matthew Josephson’s The Robber Barons.1 Robber barons were widely despised and considered rapa...
Robber Barons and Monopolies
- A chief complaint against the 19th-century capitalists was that they were monopolists. Fear over the robber barons and their monopoly practices increased public support for the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. Economic theory says a monopolist earns premium profits by restricting output and raising prices. This only occurs after the monopolist prices out or legally restricts an…
Criticism of Robber Barons
- Among common criticisms of the early robber barons included poor working conditions for employees, selfishness, and greed. Some robber barons—including Robert Fulton, Edward K. Collins, and Leland Stanford—earned their wealth through political entrepreneurship. Many wealthy railroad tycoons during the 1800s received privileged access and financing from the go…
Special Considerations
- Working conditions in 19th century America were challenging, to say the least. While robber barons took advantage of their workers, they sometimes offered better working conditions than the norm of the day. Rockefeller and Ford, for example, paid higher-than-average wages, including bonuses for innovation or exceptional production. Managers often received long vacations at ful…