Giants of the Gilded Age ; Biographies of Andrew Carnegie and Andrew Mellon Offer Complex Portraits of the Two Philanthropists

Hartle, Terry, The Christian Science Monitor

Between the Civil War and the end of the 19th century, the American economy was transformed. Huge new industries - petroleum, railroads, iron and steel, natural gas, and aluminum - emerged and a rural, agrarian nation became urban and industrial.

One aspect of this transformation that has long fascinated Americans is the role that a small band of men - collectively known as "the Robber Barons" - played in this revolution. The names are well known: Morgan, Carnegie, Frick, Gould, Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, and Mellon. But we tend to view them as stereotypes - greedy, rapacious individuals who accumulated vast fortunes by buying politicians and exploiting …

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Publication information: Article title: Giants of the Gilded Age ; Biographies of Andrew Carnegie and Andrew Mellon Offer Complex Portraits of the Two Philanthropists. Contributors: Hartle, Terry - Author. Newspaper title: The Christian Science Monitor. Publication date: December 12, 2006. Page number: 13. © 2009 The Christian Science Publishing Society. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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