The History Of Industrialization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The History Of Industrialization - Essay Example This changed during the Gilded Age as businessmen like Carnegie adopted vertical integration thereby eliminating all middlemen in the process. Instead of meat being handled by different individuals, a single businessman engaged in all the trades from cattle breeding to retailing meat. This led to the emergence of corporations such as the giant steel empire of Carnegie which brought them huge profits. Others such as Rockefeller adopted horizontal integration (purchase of competing companies in the same industry) thus eliminating competitors. Rockefeller purchased all independent oil refineries creating a monopoly in the market named the Standard Oil Company. Such investors were referred as robber barons as they did everything they could to earn profits. Corporations produced powerful tycoons such as Carnegie, Rockefeller and Frederick Weyerhaeuser (timber industry) and consequently business malpractices. Rockefeller was the richest man, Carnegie the fourth richest and Weyerhaeuser the seventh richest. These and other wealthy businessmen formed trusts to monopolize the production of goods. This prompted the U.S government to pass legislation such as the Sherman Anti-trust Act of 1890 and the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 to curb such malpractices and corruption. The Interstate Commerce Act was to eliminate discrimination against small shippers by railroads while the Anti-trust Law was to curb monopolies. Speculations by tycoons often led to an economic crisis such as the panic of 1893.