“Greed, for a lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind.”[1] The famous quote from the movie Wall Street encapsulates the idea of business in the 1980’s. American business is plagued with incidents of greed. Open the paper, turn on the evening news, or watch the news feed of any social media outlet and one will see companies rocked by scandals of greed. The concept of American greed isn’t a modern notion, but one that can trace its roots back to the very founding of the country. Ruthless businessmen taking from the poor and working class who struggle to survive. And nowhere was this more evident than during the Gilded Age with the rise of the Robber Barons.
Who were these men, these kings of industry? How did they gather wealth, power, prestige, and infamy? Were they truly heartless capitalists seeking only to increase their own profits while condemning their workers to near slave-like laboring in factories? Or has history judged these men harshly in the light of other economic events, such as the Great Depression? Even among historians, there is a vast difference of opinion regarding these men. Some, like Andrew Carnegie, are seen as great philanthropists while others, like Jay Gould, are seen as the most evil and diabolical of men.
When historians reference the powerful industrialists of the Gilded Age, they often refer to them as robber barons. But what exactly is a robber baron? According to Merriam-Webster, a robber baron refers to “an American capitalist of the latter part of the 19th century who became wealthy through exploitation (as of natural resources, governmental influence, or low wage scales).”[2] He is essentially “a business owner or executive who acquires wealth through ethically questionable tactics.”[3] It seems strange that Americans who believe in the ideas of economic freedom and self-governance would view with such a harsh light the actions of men like Carnegie, Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, and Gould. Each of these men come from humble backgrounds and rose up to the top of their respective industries. Each had their own struggles and scandals, yet each moved forward and created empires of wealth.
To truly understand why many view the actions of the Robber Barons with such animosity, we must look at the economics of the time. Beyond the Great Depression and Great Recession, there were other times within American history where the economic future seems bleak. In the roughly fifty years from the end of the Civil War to the beginning of World War I, there were “only seventeen-and-a- half partly or wholly prosperous years…indicating quiet clearly that for at least 65 per cent of the time some parts of the American economy were suffering financial distress”[4] according to historian John Tipple. If 65% of the economy was in distress, then it would be easy to understand why there would be an “attack against big businessmen.”[5] They are making the money while others are suffering.
Yet there is one industry that forever link two of these men together – the railroad. Cornelius Vanderbilt created a vast shipping and railroad empire controlling the New York and Harlem, Hudson River, and New York Central railroads to name a few. While he didn’t deal with the lines in the West, he did make one key move that made him a very rich and very powerful man. He was able to consolidate railroads together to create his vast empire. He was able to create “one of the largest railroad companies the world had ever seen” and would lead to what historian Alfred D. Chandler Jr. dubbed as “a managerial revolution.”[6] Jay Gould, along with Daniel Drew and Jim Fisk, would eventually gain control the Erie Railroad by lowering the value of the stock shares, most which were held by Vanderbilt. This became known as the Erie War and was one of two major events which tarnished Gould’s image. Eventually, Gould would rise back up from setbacks, head west and take over the Union Pacific railroad among others.[7]
Unlike Vanderbilt, Carnegie, and Rockefeller, Gould’s reputation is far darker. Compared the historical interpretations of Andrew Carnegie, most of which are favorable but those of Jay Gould are of an evil mastermind. He was the Lex Luther to Carnegie’s Superman. Reed Karaim portrayed Gould as “a secretive, austere man” who had risen “from humble origins…to become a ruthless financial predator whose backroom deal making earned him the moniker Mephistopheles of Wall Street.”[8] While Vanderbilt was able to create an air of respectability, and Carnegie and Rockefeller were able to grant great philanthropic donations to gain public favor, Gould could do no right. Jesse Seligman, a long-time friend of Gould’s, said he “found it “ironic” that Gould was always cast as the arch demon in any telling of the nation’s recent financial history. If Gould was a sinner, exactly who were the saints?”[9]
Historians have just begun to look at the actions of the Robber Barons in new ways. Were they all sinners? Were they all saints? Were they just human men trying to gain power and wealth? Their economic impact on America is still felt today. There are libraries that carry the name Carnegie. Research facilities sponsored by Rockefeller. But perhaps it is time to research these men beyond the greed and title of Robber Baron to see all their actions in a new light. It is something that will require further study.
Bibliography:
Karaim, Reed. “Gold Grab.” American History 47, no. 3 (August 2012): 56-61. History Reference Center, EBSCOhost.
Renehan, Edward. Dark Genius of Wall Street: The Misunderstood Life of Jay Gould, King of the Robber Barons. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2005
“Robber Baron.” Merriam-Webster.com. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/robber baron.
Stiles, T. J. The First Tycoon: the Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt. New York, NY: Vintage Books, 2010.
Terrell, Ellen. “Robber Barons: Gould and Fisk.” Robber Barons: Gould and Fisk | Inside Adams: Science, Technology & Business. Library of Congress, September 26, 2012. https://blogs.loc.gov/inside_adams/2012/09/robber-barons-gould-and-fisk/.
Tipple, John. “The Anatomy of Prejudice: Origins of the Robber Baron Legend.” The Business History Review 33, no. 4 (1959): 510-23. Accessed September 4, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3111612.
Wall Street. Directed by Oliver Stone. 20th Century Fox Film Corp, 1987. DVD.
[1] Wall Street. Directed by Oliver Stone. 20th Century Fox Film Corp, 1987. DVD.
[2] “Robber Baron.” Merriam-Webster.com. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/robber baron.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Tipple, John. “The Anatomy of Prejudice: Origins of the Robber Baron Legend.” The Business History Review 33, no. 4 (1959): 510-23. Accessed September 4, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3111612.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Stiles, T. J. The First Tycoon: the Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt. New York, NY: Vintage Books, 2010.
[7] Terrell, Ellen. “Robber Barons: Gould and Fisk.” Robber Barons: Gould and Fisk | Inside Adams: Science, Technology & Business. Library of Congress, September 26, 2012. https://blogs.loc.gov/inside_adams/2012/09/robber-barons-gould-and-fisk/.
[8]Karaim, Reed. “Gold Grab.” American History 47, no. 3 (August 2012): 56-61. History Reference Center, EBSCOhost (
[9] Renehan, Edward. Dark Genius of Wall Street: The Misunderstood Life of Jay Gould, King of the Robber Barons. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2005
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