The+Robber+Barons

CCR- In his article “The Robber Barons,” Matthew Josephson argues that Rockefeller was a monopolistic and cruel businessman. However he fails to realize that the picture he paints does not anyway focus on the brilliance of Rockefeller. He makes Rockefeller seem like a big corporate bully when he takes a quote from a competitor of Rockefeller’s. This quote would be very biased because the man who said the quote, which made Rockefeller look like he was trying to intimidate the competition, would have felt intimidation just by being in Rockefeller’s presence. Because of this, the quote is not a valid source. The author makes it look like Rockefeller went on a cruel corporate rampage that enabled him to swindle Americans due to his monopoly. However, Rockefeller actually was simply a shrewd businessman. He maneuvered his way through corporate waters and came out on top. The author seems to resent Rockefeller. It is unfair though, to take a successful business man and critize them for their success.

AJJ- In the article “The Robber Barons,” Matthew Josephson” paints Rockefeller as a cruel businessman whose practices were unfair. Though Rockefeller was a shrewd businessman, Rockefeller formed a monopoly through cruel practices which made competitors literally unable to compete with him. Though CCR seems to believe the article didn’t focus enough on the brilliance of Rockefeller, the purpose of the article was to prove that he cruel; Saying that Rockefeller was a good businessman is contrary to his point. CCR fails to realize when he says “It is unfair though, to take a successful business man and critize them for their success,” that Josephson isn’t criticizing Rockefeller for his success but rather the practices that brought him the success. It is fair to criticize him for eliminating competition, setting prices, and creating a system where eventually Rockefeller would have the sole right to say what the American people would pay for oil. The monopoly system is unfair to capitalism and had to have been stopped in this situation and must be stopped in future situations or else more cruel businessmen like Rockefeller could abuse the system and eliminate the free market system all together.

J.R.C- In the article titled “The Robber Barons”, John D. Rockefeller is portrayed to be a contradiction to what many historians have portrayed him to represent. Historians tend to view Rockefeller with high esteem, regarding him as the epitome of a modern monopolist of industry, and in some cases boasting his admirable qualities in regards to organizing his industry. This, in fact, is false. Rockefeller can actually be viewed as the epitome of an oppressive bully of industry for many reasons. In agreement to what the author CCR has to say, one must admit to Rockefeller’s brilliance in the field of maintaining the organization industry, but in regards to what this article is depicting, brilliance is the minority of qualities found in Rockefeller in comparison to his common use of unprofessional tendencies during his reign as an industrial monopolist. Also agreeing with poster AJJ, this article wasn’t necessarily written on the measure of his success, but rather his achievement of said astounding success. The means in which Rockefeller achieved such high success was unlawful and extralegal; sometimes utilizing intimidation acts to subdue competition. Acts such as destroying competitor’s businesses further promoted the idea that Rockefeller was a bully in regards to tactics used to boast his monopoly. ﻿too much summarizing at beginning and not enough anlyzing at the end checked

AVG – In “The Robber Barons,” Matthew Josephson describes the ruthless tactics used by Rockefeller to suppress competition and therefore concludes that Rockefeller was a “robber baron.” Although the author primarily discusses Rockefeller, he suggests, both in the title (which is plural) and on page 89 when discussing industrialists in general, that many others also formed monopolies and pools to artifically inflate profit. These businessmen supposedly cared little about technological innovation or benefits to consumers because they were concerned solely with profit.

Although this picture of ruthless industrialism was an accurate depiction of some companies, particularly Standard Oil, it is an overgeneralization of business in the Gilded Age. As Alfred D. Chandler, Jr., argues in “The Coming of the Modern Industrial Corporation,” business leaders typically used innovations, advertisement, and more efficient distribution rather than conspiracy to further profits. Much business expansion was not conspiracy to reduce trade but rather vertical integration to improve efficiency and coordination, allowing companies to serve consumers better. Electrical companies, for example, created power generators to create demand and hired their own agents to distribute and install their products because of the technical skills required. These changes often benefited consumers, who could receive service and payment contracts that independent wholesalers could not provide.

An accurate picture of industry in the Gilded Age probably lies between the two views presented. Some industry leaders were robber barons who exploited both consumers, producers, and other industrial competitors, while others merely tried to promote efficiency and actually benefited customers. both concise and thorough -- well done

MRL - The author of //The Robber Barons//, Matthew Josephson, as serts that John D. Rockefeller better fit the description of a robber baron rather than a captain of industry due to his ruthless business tactics. Although his business practices were at times undoubtedly remorseless, Rockefeller, along with the other Robber Barons or Captains of Industry of America, always dedicated a portion of his fortune for philanthropic purposes. Because of this, it is difficult to classify Rockefeller as a Robber Baron or Captain of Industry, best described by this quote from, //Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.//, by biographer Ron Chernow, "What makes him [Rockefeller] problematic—and why he continues to inspire ambivalent reactions—is that his good side was every bit as good as his bad side was bad. Seldom has history produced such a contradictory figure." This quote emphasizes that Rockefeller is not a Robber Baron nor a Captain of Industry, for he was both an unsympathetic businessman and yet a caring philanthropist at the same time. It can be speculated that it was impossible to achieve the level of success of Rockefeller without being named a Robber Baron, yet the fact that Rockefeller chose to give back to America instead of completely hoard his wealth indicates that he is in fact neither a Baron nor a Captain. Matthew Josephson seems to only focus on the ruthless businessman aspect of Rockefeller because it can be argued that his merciless business practices outweigh his philanthropy. Yet if one is to truly decide if he is a Robber Baron or Captain of Industry then both sides of Rockefeller must be considered, something that Josephson ignores. a good example of analyzation -- well done