What are robber barons?

Question

what did robber barons do during the railroad era?

Answer 1

Robber Barons was the negative term for the titans of industry or, as Professor Donald Miller calls them, the capitalist conquistadors. These were the guys like Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Gustavus Swift, Philip Armour, John D. Rockefeller and others who rose to the top and ran monopolies or near-monopolies in the Gilded Age (1870s-1900ish). They were seen as bad because they employed ruthless methods to run competion out of the market, but on the other hand, weren't breaking any laws or rules in this laissez faire timeperiod. These guys also gave a lot of money away: Carnegie built tons of libraries, and Carnegie Mellon University got a lot from him, for example. All of them endowed schools and colleges, helped set up centers of learning, and gave away large sums to charities. That said, most people still focused on the ruthless business practices.

hope this helps

Answer 2

Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan were NOT robber barons.

A robber baron was a high level business man or influential industrialist who was exceptionally aggressive in his business dealings and usually disregarded the social welfare of workers in order to make his profit. There are only a few individuals who were worthy of the pejorative Robber Baron.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robber_baron_(industrialist)

Answer 3

The term "Robber baron" dates before the 1900 industrialists.

"The term robber baron (German: Raubritter) dates back to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, originally referring to certain feudal lords of land through which the Rhine River in Europe flowed. They abused their positions by stopping passing merchant ships and demanding tolls without being authorized by the Holy Roman Emperor to do so. Often iron chains were stretched across the river to prevent passage without paying the toll, and strategic towers were built to facilitate this."

"In contrast, the men who came to be known as robber barons violated the structure 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."

"Writers of the period referred to these practices as "unjust tolls," and not only did the robber barons thereby violate the prerogatives of the Holy Roman Emperor, they also went outside of the society's behavioral norms, since merchants were bound both by law and religious custom to charge a "just price" for their wares."

"Robber baron" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robber_baron

"Robber baron was a term revived in the 19th century in the United States as a pejorative reference to businessmen and bankers who dominated their respective industries and amassed huge personal fortunes, typically as a direct result of pursuing various allegedly anti-competitive or unfair business practices. The term may now be used in relation to any businessman or banker who is perceived to have used questionable business practices in order to become powerful or wealthy."

"The term derives from the medieval German lords who illegally charged exorbitant tolls against ships traversing the Rhine river (see robber baron). There has been some dispute over the term's origin and use. It was popularized by U.S. political and economic commentator Matthew Josephson during The Great Depression in a 1934 book. He attributed its first use to an 1880 anti-monopoly pamphlet in which Kansas farmers applied the term to railroad magnates. The informal term captains of industry may sometimes be used to avoid the negative connotations of "robber baron"."

"Robber baron" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robber_baron_%28industrialist%29

"Robber barons" was also used for the Post-Communist "business oligarchs" in the former USSR.

"Business oligarch is a synonym of "business magnate". The inclusion of the word oligarch describes the significant influence such wealthy people may have on the life of a state. However, in modern Russia it is very common to apply this word to any tycoon, regardless of whether he has a political power or not. The term came into wide circulation after the collapse of the Soviet Union in application to the people that became extremely wealthy in some post-Soviet republics."

"Business oligarch" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_oligarch

In conclusion : everywhere where there's a weak or weakened central government, unscrupelous business men will abuse the power vacuum and the legal back doors, and will behave as "robber barons".

Answer 4

They were the men who ran the railroad companies.

Answer 5

term used in 19th century that referenced a businessman who dominated their industry. they were seen as using unfair practices in orfer to become powerful or wealthy