Robber Barons Research Paper

The United States economy is recognized for being one of the world’s highest in rank. Corporate wealth is greatly responsible for the economies success. Wealthy individuals known as Robber Barons essentially built the economy without much contribution from the lower classes. Even though the lower classes had no major impact on America’s economic success, wealthy citizens who controlled the economy enabled the system to ease life for lower class citizens in America. Although the economy is already built and stable, some still argue whether the economy has really benefited modern ordinary Americans. In this paper, I will discuss the life of the wealthy; the life of the lower class individuals, and the affect economic development has had on modern …show more content…
Achieving luxury lifestyles without any physical labor is fairly common for most of these successful people. Due to their, comparable to royalty status, “laws were directed only against the working people, even schools served only the purpose of furnishing the offspring of the wealthy with those qualities necessary to uphold their class domination” as stated in Howard Zinn’s book. The wealthy received the better treatment under all circumstances. Not only were Robber Barons very rich, they were so rich that they were able to pay their way out of military service. In fact, one Robber Baron, John D. Rockefeller, had a massive amount of wealth that he could have been able to pay off the entire United States debt, which totaled to nearly $300,000,000,000 at the time. It may seem unfair to know that financial status plays a roll on how a person is treated in America, but money is power, and these wealthy individuals were the Robber Barons, they controlled the United States …show more content…
Not only have the wealthy benefited from the economy, but so have the lower class citizens constituted of ordinary Americans. Not long ago, before the progress of the U.S economy, it seemed nearly impossible for an individual of the lower class to receive and education at a university. Schools were rarely available, and the few that were existed only for the rich. Today however, due to the economies success, any qualified individual can graduate college without paying a dime, and public schools are found in every city for anyone to attend. Families now have the opportunity to live a better lifestyle, banks can loan citizens money for homes, businesses, and even luxury items. Although the rich do seem to be getting richer, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the poor are becoming poorer. The economy certainly has shifted over the years, and both worlds seem to be benefiting from the success of the

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