Robber Barons and Captains of Industry These are terms to describe the powerful industrialists who established large businesses in the late 1800s.

Robber Barons A robber baron implies that business leaders built their fortunes by stealing from the public. They drained the country of its natural resources and persuaded officials to interpret laws in their favor. They also drove their competitors to ruins. They paid their workers low wages and forced them to work under dangerous conditions.

Captain of Industry A captain of industry served their country in a positive way. They increased the supply of goods by building industries. They created new jobs. They funded libraries, museums, and universities.

Which one is he? Andrew Carnegie- A young immigrant from Scotland who worked as a superintendent for the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Carnegie’s ideas: He believed money could be made by investing in companies that served the railroad. ( factories, bridges, iron mills) He concentrated his investments in the steel industry after studying the Bessemer process realizing it would make cheap steel. He practiced vertical integration.

Vertical integration This is the buying of companies at all levels of production.

John D. Rockefeller Rockefeller saw the oil industry as a way to become wealthy. He built one oil refinery which expanded quickly. He then convinced his railroad friends to give him refunds when he used their railroad lines. As his company sold more oil he could undersell his competition. This practice is called horizontal integration.

Horizontal Integration This is the purchasing of competing companies in the same industry. Independent oil refineries

What is this about?

American fears