Robber Barons or Captains of Industry

It costs a great deal of money to wage war and many industrialists made great fortunes. This money led to investment in factories, railroads, steel, and the oil business. These giant enterprises transformed business and labor practices. This transformation of the work place led to more huge profits but at great worker expense. Historians have labeled these men both robber barons, for exploiting workers and consumers, and captains of industry, for providing employment and setting up philanthropic foundations.

This week you watched a video on Andrew Carnegie which traced his rise from a 13 year old boy working in a cotton factory in 1848 to the richest man in the world with the sale of Carnegie Steel Company to J.P. Morgan for $480 million in 1901. The Biography video presented a balanced portrait of a man who was ruthlessly competitive while preaching a “gospel of wealth.” In 1889 Carnegie wrote, “the man who dies … rich dies disgraced.” Our writing assignment gave you the opportunity to decide: Was Andrew Carnegie a robber baron or a captain of industry?

These issues and conflicts are with us today. Are Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling of ENRON robber barons? Are Melinda and Bill Gates captains of industry? Does business have an obligation to share its great wealth with society? EXXON, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, announced in October 2005 that their profits had increased 75% over the year before, to $9.92 billion. Do they have an obligation to reduce their prices or distribute much of their gain? And what about the role of government? Should the federal government have stopped the unfair labor practices of the late 1880s? Should government today place a windfall profits tax on the oil companies?

We also had a reading on Wal-Mart workers and saw the parallel between today’s workers and the workers of the late 1880s. The harsh working conditions of the late 1880s led workers to organize and from unions. In their early years the unions struggled to negotiate shorter work days, better wages and safer working conditions. Unions today have the same goal - to provide workers with safe working conditions and fair wages.

Thomas Nast

Thomas Nast, an immigrant from Bavaria (Germany), was an influential political cartoonist from 1860 until his death in 1902. His illustrations and cartoons were featured in one of the most popular magazines of the time, “Harper’s Weekly.” He is credited with creating the political symbols for the Democrats, the donkey, and the Republicans, the elephant.

As we saw in our earlier assignment on political cartoons, they can make powerful statements. I am sure you remember our Andrew Jackson cartoon depicting him as an all powerful King. Your assignment this week is to find a Nast cartoon or illustration that he drew after 1870. You have a series of questions to help you understand the cartoon. Be sure to bring in a copy of the cartoon and your written work with the rubric attached. This will be one of our last assignments for the year.

Packets, Portfolios, and Study Guides

The end of the year is fast approaching. To prepare yourself for the final exam, you should review the past work that you have saved in your portfolio. We will update your status of assignment sheet this coming week and then you may take the folders home.

You also have the packets on the last three standards. The “rise of industrial America” packet will be collected on Tuesday. All of these will be useful in your review of our most recent work.

You also have a study guide. The study guide will be collected the day of the exam and it is worth up to 10 points. The guide is a guide….that is, don’t just provide definitions of the terms or events, use the listing as a way to ask yourself, why do I need to know about tariffs, who supported tariffs, who opposed, was this an issue that resulted in a change in our country? Write your responses on a separate page to give yourself adequate space.

You also have the blog! You can go back to the postings from the start of the third quarter (January) and read each one as a way to review. If you don’t recall a concept or event, you have live links that will take you to a site that will refresh your memory. It takes approximately 2 to 3 minutes to read each entry so in a matter of about 30 to 40 minutes you can review the entire second semester! Should pod casting be next?

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Our bulletin board this week carried pictures of our favorite historians…YOU. Everyone who did a Civil War project received a photo of themselves with their partner and display board. I hope you share these with your family, especially if they were unable to attend our event. Be sure to save the photo in a safe place so when your children are studying the Civil War you can produce the photo and say, “When I was your age, I had to do this project!”

Memorial Day

We did a reading about the history of Memorial Day so I hope you take a moment on Monday to stop and think about all the people who have gone before us and have sacrificed their lives so we can have a better life. Enjoy the long weekend and stay safe.

A Friendly Reminder

The “John Adams” books will be torn from your hands on Tuesday. I know it is difficult to give up this award winning volume but take consolation in the fact that you can order your own copy from Amazon or pick it up at your local bookstore. This summer you may want to pick up 1776, McCullough’s latest book, or go back and read one of his earlier ones such as Truman or The Great Bridge­. A habit common to most successful people is continually reading, to gain knowledge and ideas!