1. Robber Barons or Captains of Industry?

2. Vertical vs. horizontal integration
Vertical integration: a company would control every stage of the industrial process, from mining the raw materials to transporting the finished product
ex. Carnegie-steel
Horizontal integration: former competitors are brought under a single corporate umbrella
ex. Rockefeller-oil

3. Rockefeller-The Oil Industry
He was the 1st American billionaire
His company, the Standard Oil Trust, controlled 90% of the oil refinery business by 1881
By eliminating waste in production, the monopoly was able to keep prices low for consumers
At the time of his retirement, Rockefeller’s fortune amounted to $900 million
In 1911, the Supreme Court ordered the monopoly be broken up into 34 companies, including Conoco, Amoco, BP, Chevron, Exxon, Mobil, etc.

4. Standard Oil

5. Rockefeller Center The Rockefeller Center officially opened in May It incorporated his business venture of a “city within a city” and gainfully employed over 40,000 people at the height of the depression. is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering 22 acres between 48th and 51st Streets in New York. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning between Fifth Avenue and Seventh Avenue. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987.

6. Carnegie-The Steel Industry
In the 1850s, Henry Bessemer discovered a process for producing high-quality steel; the Great Lakes Region with its abundant coal reserves and access to iron ore emerged as the leading steel producer
Carnegie, in the 1870s, started manufacturing steel in Pittsburgh
By 1900, Carnegie Steel topped the steel industry, employing and producing more steel than all the steel mills in Britain
Carnegie sold his company in 1900 for over $400 million to a new steel combo headed by J.P. Morgan-U.S. Steel (1st billion dollar co., largest enterprise in the world, controlled over 3/5 the nation’s steel business)

7. Carnegie Steel-Pittsburgh “Steelers” The Steelers logo was introduced in 1962 and is based on the "Steelmark," originally designed by Pittsburgh's U.S. Steel and now owned by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). In fact, it was Cleveland-based Republic Steel that suggested the Steelers adopt the industry logo. It consists of the word "Steelers" surrounded by three astroids (hypocycloids of four cusps). The original meanings behind the astroids were, "Steel lightens your work, brightens your leisure, and widens your world." Later, the colors came to represent the ingredients used in the steel-making process: yellow for coal, red for iron ore, and blue for scrap steel.[24] While the formal Steelmark logo contains only the word "Steel," the team was given permission to add "ers" in 1963 after a petition to AISI.

8. Carnegie Mellon University

9. Carnegie Hall

10. Vanderbilt-The Railroad Industry
The nation’s first big business was the railroad
After the Civil War, railroad mileage increased more than fivefold in a 35 year period
“Commodore” Cornelius Vanderbilt used his millions earned from a steamboat business to merge local railroads into the New York Central Railroad (1867)-ran from NYC to Chicago

11. Vanderbilt University

12. Frederick William Vanderbilt 1856-1938 Hyde Park in Hyde Park, New York

13. Rough Point in Newport, Rhode Island

14. William Kissam Vanderbilt 1849-1920 660 Fifth Avenue, New York

15. “Idle Hour” in Oakdale, Long Island, New York

16. “Marble House” in Newport, Rhode Island

17. William Kissam Vanderbilt II Eagle’s Nest at Centerport, New York

18. George Washington Vanderbilt II (1862-1914) “Biltmore” in Asheville, North Carolina

19. Cornelius Vanderbilt II (1843-1899) New York Residence

20. “The Breakers” in Newport, Rhode Island

21. Florence Vanderbilt (1854-1952) “Florham” in Convent Station, New Jersey

22. Emily Thorn Vanderbilt “Elm Court” in Lenox, Massachusetts

23. J. Pierpont Morgan-Consolidations and mergers

24. Economic Theories
Laissez faire: economist Adam Smith-business should not be regulated by govt., but rather, by an “invisible hand” of supply and demand
Social Darwinism: “survival of the fittest”
Gospel of Wealth: utilized religion to justify their wealth (applying the Protestant work ethic and saying hard work and material are signs of God’s favor)
Carnegie argued the wealthy had a God-given responsibility to carry on projects of civil philanthropy for the benefit of society (he distributed over $350 million to support libraries, universities, public institutions, etc.)