ALEXANDER BERKMAN (1870-1936)

The Gilded Age saw a period in the US when much of the wealth was in the hands of a few people. Beneath this thin "layer of gold" there was a layer of suffering. The factories of rich industrialists were filled with overworked, underpaid workers. Across the nation workers joined Unions and began to go on strike! Collective bargaining failed and violence broke out between strikers and scabs hired by bosses to break the strike. During the Homestead Strike of 1892 steel workers were attacked by "detectives" hired by Henry Clay Frick who co-owned the factory with Andrew Carnegie. During the strike young Alex, inspired by the Anarchist Movement, decided the best way to win the strike would be to kill Frick. Alex walked into his office and shot Frick four times but Frick survived! This is a picture of Alex at 22 the same year he attempted the murder of the robber baron. He was caught, sent to prison for 14 years, and released in 1906 (the same year Upton Sinclair published The Jungle). Soon after he was deported to Europe where he lived the rest of his life trying to fight for workers rights.

QUESTION:

Alex's mentor thought that he had gone too far in trying to kill Frick. He thought it would make the public feel sorry for robber barons. Why did Alex believe the solution had to be so extreme as to commit murder? Is that the best solution?

ANDREW CARNEGIE (1835-1919)

Andrew was an immigrant from Scotland in 1848 - the year when the Mexican-American War ended. This first picture shows him at 16 (with his kid brother on the left) when he got a job that would be the beginning of his rise to one of the richest men in the world. He worked as a messenger for a telegraph company. By the time of the Civil War he was in his late 20s and was already getting rich by investing his earnings into railroad companies.

We see Andy here at 43 (1878) just before he would get really rich entering a new industry in what would be known as the Gilded Age. He took all this money and created the Carnegie Steel Co. one of many companies that were producing steel in the US. He was able to cut out his competitors by buying all related companies that were needed to create steel and was able to sell his product at a lower price. Underneath this "layer of gold" there would be strong unrest by the workers of his steel plants. During the Homestead Strike of 1892 union workers were killed and beaten by hired agents of his company.

We see Andy here at 78 years old (1913) by the time he had retired. Carnegie had reached a wealth that was rivaled only by John Rockefeller. He became a philanthropist, donating money to charities and universities. Carnegie Hall in here in New York and Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania both bear his name.


QUESTION:

In these pictures we saw examples of what Andrew looked like in different stages in his life. Why is it that the last picture is the more recognizable image of Carnegie? Why is this image of Carnegie as a philanthropist promoted over the others?

JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER (1839-1937)

By the time he was 31 John had started up the Standard Oil Company of Ohio that refined oil. He wasn't the only oil refiner in Ohio but because of secret deals with the railroad companies, John was able to sell his oil at a reduced rate. This strategy made Standard Oil rich but John took his business acumen a step further. He began buying out competing refineries in the state. Eventually Standard Oil began to monopolize the oil industry when the Standard Oil Trust was created in 1882 (the same year Jesse James was killed). This picture shows a seemingly happy Johnny Rock in 1885 at 55 years old. In 1911 the Supreme Court declared Standard Oil illegal because of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. At its height the company controlled 91% of all oil produced in the US. The companies of Chevron, Exxon, Mobil, Conoco, and Amoco were formed from this fallout. Though Standard Oil was no more, Johnny owned majority stock in all the new companies. This wealth turned him into a major philanthropist, donating much of his money to charities. He is the top richest person to have ever lived while Bill Gates is 20th on that same list!

QUESTION:

At the time when Rockefeller was making his money he was considered the greatest "industrialist" to his peers. But what of his workers? What word would they use to describe Rockefeller and why?