Analyze the Effects That the Wealthiest Individuals of the Gilded Age Had on America Essay Example for Free

Analyze the Effects That the Wealthiest Individuals of the Gilded Age Had on America Essay As the American Civil War came to an end, an era of phenomenal economic growth was spurred by a second Industrial Revolution. It touched all geographic areas of America, evident in increased farm output and labor efficiency. The magnificent flow of goods generated could be efficiently transported by freshly lain transcontinental railroads made of Bessemer steel. Presiding over these late nineteenth century developments was a new class of extremely wealthy industrialists, the main beneficiaries of the era’s prosperity. They dominated substantial sectors of the new economy such as steel, oil, banking, and rail transportation. While these individuals created and donated outstanding wealth, they also engineered one of American history’s most corrupt and unequally heterogeneous time periods, dubbed the Gilded Age by Mark Twain. Such ambiguity blurs the legacy of these incredible few, who some call â€Å"robber barons† and other call â€Å"captains of industry†. However, neither polarity is completely accurate. The wealthiest Americans during the Gilded Age had both positive and negative effects on American society. While a large group of individuals amassed incredible wealth during the Gilded Age, there existed an even more elite group consisting of individuals that rank among the richest men in history. It included John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Jay Gould, James Fisk, and J. P. Morgan. To understand their later deeds, one must understand the strikingly similar environments in which these men came of age. For example, all of the aforementioned men were born in the Northeast during the Second Great Awakening, an environment in which principles such as self-discipline, frugality and efficiency were highly valued. Preachers of the time period endorsed the Calvinist view that â€Å"where you find the most religion, you find the most worldly prosperity†, while poverty was considered a condition of the lazy and spiritually weak (Chernow 55). Like many others have done in history, the wealthiest industrialists established religion as the concrete foundation on which they justified their actions. With the exception of J. P. Morgan, the most affluent robber barons also grew up with little material means. Carnegie worked as a bobbin boy at age 14, earning about $1. 20 a week, and Rockefeller picked potatoes for 37 cents a day in his youth (â€Å"Andrew Carnegie†, Chernow 32). These challenging living conditions further instilled frugality and grit inside the destined business leaders of America, qualities that would help them conquer industrial America. Most of the future industrialists also entered the business world in their teenage years. Sixteen-year-old Rockefeller so furtively pursued employment that he visited businesses from early morning to late afternoon six days a week for six weeks until he finally found a job as a bookkeeper (Chernow 44-45). Additionally, they were all in their early twenties when the Civil War began. Amusingly, not one of them enlisted; each hired a replacement for $300 instead (Zinn 255). The young entrepreneurs sought to benefit financially during the war instead of fighting in it, although most supported the Union cause (Chernow 70). The road that each of these extraordinary men walked led them into a monumental era. War raged, new industries boomed, and they had the chance to take advantage of their rapidly changing surroundings. Few in history had as fortuitous opportunities as these men who were born in the right place at the right time. The Civil War gave young industrialists an opportunity to flaunt their business acumen during â€Å"wartime prosperity†. However, with the exception of John D. Rockefeller, who quadrupled his and his associate’s company profits and then bought the company through fair and hard work, their ascent during the period was generally cluttered with acts of questionable morality. In one notorious negotiation, J. P. Morgan bought 5,000 rifles for $3. 50 each and sold them for $22 each to an army general, making a handy $90,000. It was later found that the rifles shot off the thumbs of the soldiers using them. However, no compensation was given because the purchase was an authentic legal contract (Zinn 255). In addition, Jay Gould and James Fisk heftily profited from trading railroad stocks. With inside information, they unfairly beat out rival speculators. James Fisk also commonly sold war commodities for triple their market price to desperate armies (Josephson 66). These young men were still largely in a developmental stage during the Civil War, but their actions during the time period heavily foreshadowed their later actions. Postbellum America was said to be â€Å"the most fertile in American history for chemers and dreamers† (Chernow 97). The young industrialists naturally continued to increase their wealth in the decades after the war with blazing speed, but the actions they made to do so further polluted their legacy and adversely affected American society. Perhaps the most notorious robber baron was John D. Rockefeller. During the war, the twenty-five year old had bought his condescending associates out and then opened Cleveland’s largest oil refinery. â€Å"It was the day that determined my career† he later said (Chernow 87). After the war, Rockefeller sought to further expand his business. He established the Standard Oil Company, a trust with $1 million dollars in capital, with the goal of controlling all of the oil industry (Chernow 134). An action that largely epitomizes his company’s chicanery is the formulation of the South Improvement Company, a collusion with three powerful railroads to increase Standard Oil stakes. Under the SIC, Standard Oil would receive a payment for every barrel of oil shipped by his refineries as well as other refineries, a deal that would discourage railroads to ship oil from refineries outside the SIC, virtually rendering it impossible for small refineries to survive. In exchange, Rockefeller promised to meet a daily shipping quota which would stabilize railroad profits (Chernow 136). When struggling Cleveland refineries heard of the SIC plan, they immediately protested. The plan eventually failed; however, while the plan was intact, Rockefeller bought 22 out of 26 Cleveland refineries in one month, a shopping spree dubbed the Cleveland Massacre (Chernow 145). One Cleveland refiner’s daughter said â€Å"Father went almost insane over this terrible upset to his business. His whole life was embittered by this experience†. Countless similar stories were told as Rockefeller ruthlessly conquered the oil industry by means of horizontal integration. â€Å"The day of combination is here to stay. Individualism has gone, never to return† he said (Chernow 148). Whenever legitimate competition arose, Standard Oil took extreme measures to corral it. When a rival pipeline company threatened Standard Oil’s dominance, Standard Oil hired lawyers to act as farmers and landowners who opposed pipeline construction, bought entire valleys of land, persuaded companies to not sell construction supplies to the rival company, and generously bribed legislatures (Chernow 207-209). Using similar coercive means as well as outright bribery, Rockefeller came to control 95% of the oil industry by 1877, eventually accumulating a fortune that makes him the richest man in American history (Bailey, Kennedy, and Cohen 541, Chernow 505). His success inspired countless business leaders to form trusts that further disproportioned American wealth, hence indirectly harming America socioeconomically on top of his colossal direct harm. Other industrial captains also amassed their fortunes at the expense of others. Railroad builders such as James Hill, Vanderbilt, and the Big Four employed Irish and Chinese workers at the cost of one or two dollars a day. Hours were long and the work was dangerous. In just 1889, 22,000 railroad workers were killed or injured (Zinn 256). The most famous demonstration of railroad labor unrest was the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 which was triggered by wage cuts. 100 people died, and millions of dollars of property was damaged (Carrigan). The steel industry also generated aggrieved workers. Two-thirds of the workers at Andrew Carnegie’s largest steel manufacturing plant, Homestead, earned $1. 40 every 12 hour workday, barely enough to keep a family above the poverty line of $500/year. Asked about working conditions, one Homestead worker said, â€Å"I lost forty pounds the first three months I came into the business. It sweats the life out of a man. I often drink two buckets of water during the twelve hours; the sweat drips through my sleeves, and runs down my legs and fills my shoes† (Reilly 8). The wealthy inequality created by big businesses like Carnegie’s begot class warfare. In 1892, Homestead workers went on strike after the manager decided to cut wages and break the union. When Pinkerton detectives failed to stop the riot, federal troops were called in (Zinn 276). The Gilded Age naturally produced monopolistic big businesses that were owned by immensely wealthy individuals due to the nature of the technological innovations of the time period. They established an unfortunate precedent of greed and â€Å"survival of the fittest† in American society. One must also never forget the hundreds of thousands of forgotten men who toiled twelve hour workdays to enlarge a few men’s coffers. Much like the actions of the Spanish conquistadores, those of the wealthiest industrialists of the Gilded Age are mainly noted for their detrimental effects. However, this Black Legend of the late nineteenth century is not entirely accurate. It is true that greed and inequality loomed over them; however, they also developed the American supereconomy. For example, aided by the Bessemer process, Andrew Carnegie led a dramatic increase in steel production. In 1880, one million tons of steel were produced. By 1910, output reached 25 million tons, largely thanks to Carnegie’s innovative vertical integration (Zinn 254). Incredibly, before the 20th century, Carnegie Steel Company was producing more steel than all of Great Britain (Roark, Johnson, and Cohen 633). Rockefeller also utilized his unmatched executive skills to create a remarkably efficient business machine. For example, by applying thirty-nine drops of solder on cans of oil instead of forty, he saved $2,500 a year early in his career. In time, this tweak saved the Standard Oil Company hundreds of thousands of dollars, and Rockefeller constantly sought for such minute enhancements (Chernow 180-181). His genius can be seen in his jaw-dropping wealth; in 1902, his income was $58 million, over a billion dollars in 1996 dollars (Chernow 504). From 1865 to 1900, the American economy grew eightfold, and this was largely thanks to the talents of the industrialists who aided America in becoming the world superpower it is today (Watts). The 19th century industrialists also did not solely harm the common man. For example, Rockefeller’s monopolization of the oil industry ruined many common men, but it benefited even more by making kerosene widely available. This was because of Standard Oil’s foundational principle: â€Å"that the larger the volume the better the opportunities for the economies, and consequently the better the opportunities for giving the public a cheaper product without the dreadful competition† (Chernow 150). Rockefeller accomplished just this, as the price of refined oil was cut in half as a result of his enterprise. Because of Rockefeller, millions could light their homes for a penny an hour, a cost that would be much higher if not for Rockefeller’s dominance (Folsom 83). Perhaps the advances he gave to the common man outweighed his sins against the relatively few in the oil industry. Adhering to the doctrines of Andrew Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth, the wealthiest industrialists donated stupendous amounts of money to charitable causes. In 1911, the Carnegie Corporation was founded, a charitable enterprise with $125 million in starting capital founded by none other than Andrew Carnegie. To this day, it is one of the highest ranked charitable foundations with over $2 billion in assets for education, prevention of deadly conflict, and strengthening of human resources (Traub). As an extremely devout Christian, Rockefeller donated money from his very first paycheck, a fact that renders any extremely stingy and greedy portrayal of him false. â€Å"I have my earliest ledger and when I was only making a dollar a day I was giving five, ten, or twenty-five cents† he said. What distinguished Rockefeller from other great donors was his generous funding of medical research, an interest sparked by his father’s shady career. When asked about building medical facilities, Carnegie once said â€Å"That is Mr. Rockefeller’s specialty. Go see him†. In 1901, the Rockefeller Institute of Medical Research was founded. Its work produced the first American Nobel Prize for medicine (Chernow 478-9). In 1910, Rockefeller fought hookworm on a global scale and within five years, it was nearly eradicated (Chernow 481). In donating to charitable causes, Rockefeller managed his charitable expenditures as he would with Standard Oil. By his death in 1936, he had given away $550 million, making him American society’s greatest philanthropist (Bailey, Kennedy, and Cohen 576). One area that almost all of the late nineteenth century capitalists contributed to was education. Rockefeller himself supported UChicago, Huntington, two Negro colleges, and the famous Tuskegee Institute. Carnegie personally contributed $60 million to the construction of public libraries (Bailey, Kennedy, and Cohen 576). Many others also contributed to America’s education. Cornell, Duke, Vanderbilt, and Stanford were all captains of industry. The colleges that they founded are among America’s top colleges to this day. Largely thanks to the donations of the industrialists, the illiteracy rate fell from 20 percent in 1870 to 11 percent in 1900.. It has been said that â€Å"a free government cannot function successfully if the people are shackled by ignorance† (Bailey, Kennedy, and Cohen 573). Thus, the donations of the wealthiest industrialists have had a profound effect on American society as young men and women in schools and libraries across the country to this day have been influenced by them. During the Gilded Age, the combination of laissez-faire economics, post-war sentiment, and technological innovation led to a spur of rapid change that forever altered the American landscape. The wealthiest industrialists of the time period became wealthy by taking advantage of its developments. In retrospect, late nineteenth century American society can largely be viewed as the results of the influences of the industrialists. The effects had no definitive net impact, but they did forever shape American society.

Dangerous Minds Essay examples -- essays research papers

Dangerous Minds In chapter 4, Freire begins to discuss freedom. Although he believes that it should have some limits, he wants us, as teachers, to give our students all the freedom they need. Watching the movie Dangerous Minds made me question where one draws the line and if we even have that choice over our students. In this movie we see how these students in her Academy class are "bright, challenging" students who actually turn out to be rowdy and disrespectful inner-city kids. These students have all the freedom in the world to do and say whatever they want causing a BIG interruption in the lesson and teaching process. In reading Adams- â€Å"The School as an Ecosystem†, he brings up the question of who should control our schools and how? In the U.S we have a multilevel governmen...

The Effects Of Drug Use

Maybe some of us have a good idea that the illegal drug business is still huge but covered somewhere among the â€Å"black† economy markets. After all the numbers one could hear tossed around, I am afraid that the sad truth could be, that no one really knows just how huge this business might be, how many people die, how much blood money has been made and than laundered into legal businesses. It is terrible to imagine how many subways and basements come to be â€Å"the places for being in the clouds†. According to the National Drug Prevention League drugs are an object of the fastest growing trade, except the Internet. Some of you might share my opinion that it is a billion-dollar industry that takes a comfortable place in our society. Drugs have always been with mankind as we seem to carry an inherent need to consume mind altering substances. Many people, who didn’t use drugs before, know only that â€Å"that thing† can make them feel in a strange way. But drugs could harm people when using them. It is not a secret that the consequences could be severe for the users. It is essential that people are educated at a very young age and presented with the appropriate social re-enforcers to understand that there are viable reasons that drugs are dangerous – they destroy lives. Drugs affect people’s thinking, awareness and senses. They have huge effect on people’s physical and mental health because of the chemical reactions they provoke in humans’ bodies. They lead to hallucinations, hearing voices, suspision and a feeling of â€Å"everyone is out to get me†. Also they make most of the organs in your body disfunction, poison blood, kill brain cells and finally, in most cases, kill the person that abuses them. Hallucinations can make people experience things that aren’t real. Probably drug users are looking exactly for that â€Å"escaping the reality† for a while. Don’t you think that until now, modes of life have been based on the material slavery of the masses? Does our society offer us a different life than working all day long and going home to get some rest for the next working day? Maybe not, and maybe that is why people who are using drugs do believe drugs are the magic formula that leads someone to a world totally different from the boring every-day life. There is a clich? that says – â€Å"People have the strange instinct to break every rule once it is established†. When I went to Holland 3 years ago, I found that the government had established some rules that were quite strange for me at first. In 1976, Holland decriminalized marijuana possession. From that time on one can go into a retail shop and purchase small amounts of marijuana. This could be one of the reasons why Holland has a low level of heroin use, a low level of cocaine use, much lower than most of the other countries do. What actually happened was that the marijuana became the filter, preventing harder drug use. But do people of our society really know where the drugs are going to and who are their greatest consumers? It is a pity that one of the easiest places to find some drugs could be in schools. Students who turn to more potent drugs usually do so after first using cigarettes and alcohol, and then marijuana. Maybe there are some people who know that drugs transform schools into marketplace for dope dealers. However, students who continue to use drugs learn that drugs can make strange things with their thoughts and feelings, and the greater a student’s involvement with marijuana, the more likely it is that student could begin to use other drugs in conjunction with marijuana. When talking about night parties, I got used to seeing guys smoking marijuana as imperturbably as they drink their beers. Can you think about somebody you know who has taken drugs in front of you? Here, the bad thing could be that you might have seen at least one person taking drugs freely. â€Å"This is a family problem†- some could say. And according Dan Check’s book † The Success and Failure of George Bush’s War on Drugs† the problem is coming rather from the family than somewhere else. Maybe the society has to rely on the family, as being the strongest entity in its structure to solve the huge-spread drug problem that exists. But here, the weird thing is that parents can’t really see the symptoms of drug addiction in their children. And it is a â€Å"public secret† that the gap between parents and kids is getting bigger and bigger. I don’t want to imagine what the difference between parents and children could be in the next generations. But parents shouldn’t wait until they think their child has a problem. Many young people in treatment programs say that they had used alcohol and other drugs for at least two years before their parents knew about it. Maybe their parents should begin to talk earlier about the effects of alcohol and other drugs use and keep the lines of communication open all the time. Isn’t it better to let your child know that you are concerned, and that you can work together to find answers of these so important questions? It is really harder to stop drug use among children once it is there. Most of the times, after students get involved with drugs, they start to sell them or begin to steal from family, friends, or employers in order to buy the next dose. Determining the consequences of harder drug use could help the new generation stop using them. Maybe facing the answer of this question will make people think about the real price they are paying when drugs are involved. Along with â€Å"escaping the boring reality†, the teeth rot out, the appetite is lost, and the stomach doesn’t function properly. The gall bladder becomes inflamed and eyes and skin turn yellow. In some cases, membranes of the nose turn a flaming red and breathing becomes difficult. Oxygen in the blood decreases, bronchitis and tuberculosis develop. Good traits of character disappear and bad ones emerge. Sex organs become affected too. Veins collapse. Nerves snap. Imaginary and fantastic fears blight the mind. Sometimes complete insanity results. Many times, death comes much too early. Such is the torment of being a drug addict and such is the plague of being one of the walking dead bodies. The statistics show that in the period 1994 – 1999 the rate of death caused by â€Å"hard-core† drugs use has increased with 6%. Maybe the answer for preventing humans and most of all the young people from taking dope is hidden somewhere among all these questions that are hard to be faced by the society. Who is responsible for this to happen? And who is really interested in preventing the dope disaster? Is there something that can be done if we, the human beings, do not realize the importance of the dope problem? Drugs have made a tremendous impact on American society over the past thirty to forty years, yet many Americans are ambivalent regarding their opinions relating to drugs in terms of decriminalization, availability, impact on society, and mental and physical health impacts.

The Movie `` Precious `` - 1033 Words

In Chapter 5 of the textbook, it states â€Å"child abuse or maltreatment constitutes all forms of physical and/ or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development of dignity in the context of a responsibility, trust, or power† ( Pg. 130). The movie â€Å"Precious†, which is an adaptation of the novel â€Å"Push† by Sapphire, touches on every aspect of this definition of child abuse, and although this is a movie, unfortunately it is a reality for 6 million children in America. Any part of this movie at any given time can relate to any aspect of child abuse, but I have chosen specific parts for specific examples. From the very beginning of the movie, anyone can see the abuse that was going on, but the first line that stuck in my mind for a long time after the scene was gone is when Precious started the new alternative school and when asked to state her name and something about herself she replied,† I have never spoken in class before†. She was then asked by her teacher how that made her feel and she said, â€Å"this class makes me feel, here†. That statement in itself sums up one of the major effects of child abuse. Precious at 16, has never felt loved and this in turn has affected her emotional and psychological health. For someone to say that they feel, â€Å"here†, it’s like them saying that they suddenly feel present, visible and that they suddenlyShow MoreRelatedThe Movie `` Precious ``966 Words   |  4 Pages How often is it that you watch a movie and you feel uneasy or sad but the movie is actually a good movie; award winning good? Precious is one of the only movies that makes me feel that way no matter how many times I watch it. The movie Precious was actually a bestselling novel written by Ramona Lofton also known as Sapphire; in 1996; then directed i nto a movie by Lee Daniels in 2009. The movie takes place in Harlem, 1987 it is about an overweight, abused, illiterate teen who is pregnant with herRead MorePrecious Movie Paper821 Words   |  4 PagesPrecious Hollywood has never understood the real meaning of poverty, culture class, deviance, or sexual orientation until a director, Lee Daniels, had read the book â€Å"Push†, by Saphire, which the movie is an exact replicate of the book. When I had first seen the movie, I was very astonished at all the cursing and abuse that they had shown, I was also amazed that the director Lee Daniels, went over the line to show how hard it actually is to be a poor, young 16-year-old, African AmericanRead MorePrecious Movie Analysis713 Words   |  3 PagesIn the film Precious discuses a lot of maltreatment and physical abuse. This movie is by far one of the worse because it deals with mistreatment and negative talk on an innocent teenager who wants to be all that she can be, but she is insulted and told differently. There is a lot of drugs being used in the home and just plain out disrespect. Claireece â€Å"Precious† Jones who is 16 years old grew up in Harlem during the late 1980s. All of the poor and dirty crime that happens, none of which affects PreciousRead MorePrecious Movie Analysis1212 Words   |  5 PagesPrecious is a movie that was produced based off a book. The movie was a story about a 16-year-old girl Claireece â€Å"Precious† Jones who was abused by her family emotionally, physically, mentally, and sexually. (Magness, Siegel-Magness, Daniels, 2009) Taking at a look at this from a social worker perspective one can look at how to address the situation and how one work with a potential client like Precious. The film addresses many issues that a client may come across including the micro, mezzo, andRead MorePrecious Movie Analysis2149 Words   |  9 PagesPersonal Response to the film â€Å"Precious† â€Å"Precious† is a film about a Harlem teen of the same name’s attempts of escape from her abusive mother and lustful father in order to live a new life and have a brighter future. The movie, in spite of clichà © and problems with the plot, managed to win the viewers’ heart and took them up for an empathic and compassionate adventure of Precious, a 16-year-old teen who is slowly transforming into a mature and independent young woman. Coupled with a decent directorRead MoreTaking a look at the Movie Precious652 Words   |  3 PagesThe movie Precious is revolves heavily on the severe outcomes of life and how the sever sufferings that some suffer can really effect one’s mental status. The main character of the movie is Claireece Precious Jones, referred to as Precious, a 16-year-old girl who has lived through a life of abuses with her abusive mother Monique and step father Rodney; suffering at a very young age from both her parents. In the movie, Pre cious lives in a ghetto in Harlem New York surviving on welfare from anRead MoreFilm Analysis Of The Movie Precious2252 Words   |  10 PagesIntroduction The movie Precious is based on the adaptation of the book Push written by Sapphire. Though the story is a fiction based life of Claireece Precious Jones it is far from reality for many young women. Growing up in an environment that is filled with emotional, verbal, physical and sexual abuse along with crime infested neighborhoods and overcrowded public school and many other factors that pose a lot of challenges for a young girl in the inner city. Though the odd is against Precious she provesRead MoreThroughout The Movie Precious, There Are Several Times836 Words   |  4 PagesThroughout the movie Precious, there are several times when the audience witnesses trauma and its effect on Precious’ life. These traumatizing events include sexual abuse, verbal abuse, physical abuse, and emotional abuse. When people go through these events, their mind will find ways to cope with their situation. These coping mechanisms are depersonalization, derealization, detachment, and dissociati on. Depersonalization is defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5Read MoreEssay about Precious Movie Review1310 Words   |  6 PagesPrecious Summary The film Precious directed by Lee Daniels is a solemn movie dealing with the unfortunate truths of everyday life for some individuals. The film staring Gabourey Sidibe who plays the main character Clarice â€Å"Precious† Jones along with co-stars Mariah Carey and Leni Kravitz is based in the Ghetto of Harlem in the year of 1987. Precious is a sixteen year-old illiterate morbidly obese teenager whom has grown up in the Ghetto of Harlem in a dysfunctional family. Her mother Mary verballyRead MoreCulture in Urban Schools - Paper on the Movie Precious1468 Words   |  6 PagesFinal Exam Directions: Choose movie from the list below to answer the following questions. Answer the questions within the framework of the Culture in Urban in Schools 3306 class. Each question is 20 points each. Suggested Movies or Books: Slumdog Millionaire CRASH Freedom Writers The Secret Lives of Bees Save the Last Dance To Kill a Mockingbird Precious Name of Movie: _____________________Precious___________________ 1. Describe the movie/book setting by using Sociocultural