Captain of Industry or Robber Baron

The period of invention after the Civil War set the stage for immense industrial growth (Cayton 237). This period of time in the late 1800's is known as the Industrial Revolution. Two prominent names in big business were John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie. There is no doubt that these people left their mark on business and on history. However, there is some dispute over how these individuals should be portrayed. Some people say that they were robber barons, while others insist that they were captains of industry. A captain of industry is someone who is perceived to have helped the nat…