In the late 1800s and early 1900s, during the height of the American Industrial Revolution, there was a small group of men who owned major businesses and were leaders of their industries . They owned factories, railroads, banks, and even created company towns for the sole purpose of housing their workers. Thanks to the efforts of these few men, the US economy became the envy of the world, and America became a major world power. They provided the public with high-demand products at reasonable prices and opened their markets to overseas countries. Although many people believe that early industrialists were robber barons who exploited the poor, these great men were true captains of industry who created new ways of doing business and provided products and services to the public; moreover, they were generous philanthropists who contributed much to society. Many people believe that these "robber barons" were evil, heartless men who took advantage of the poor and oppressed. They believe that the workforce employed by these men was nothing more than a group of indentured slaves. “Here was a population, low class and mostly foreign, always on the verge of starvation and dependent for their chances of life on the whim of men as brutal and unscrupulous as the slave drivers of the old days;” (Sinclair 106). “The robber barons and corporate monopolists of the 19th century robbed the poor while the government looked the other way.” (Gallagher) These industrialists earned enormous amounts of money from their businesses and controlled their various markets through vast monopolies. They paid their workers little money for long periods of work, and were constantly thinking of something new... in the middle of paper... than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes be put to sleep, his greed may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. "(Henderson)Works CitedAndrew Carnegie: A Tribute. Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. August 3, 2004Danzer, Gerald A, et al. The Americans.USA: McDougal Litell, 1998.Gallagher, Bill. "Bush's Tax Policy Favors Robber Barons ." Niagara Falls Reporter June 3, 2003. Niagara Falls Reporter High School Heights. September 30, 2004. Henderson, John E. The Christian Citizen 1998. Christian Citizenship Ministry. September 30, 2004. Newman, Doug. Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle of New York: Bantom Books, 1981.