“ROBBER BARONS” OR “CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY” TRIAL



AP US History

“ROBBER BARONS” OR “CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY” TRIALS

INTRODUCTION:  During the "Gilded Age" of the 19th century, a few businessmen became extremely wealthy through manipulation of the economic system.  Many called these men robber barons, while others considered them to be great entrepreneurs, or captains of industry. To understand them is to understand economics.

TASK: The industrialists listed below have all been separately found guilty of crimes associated with being a robber baron.  In your groups, you will research each person, and as a group decide whether he was a “Robber Baron” or a “Captain of Industry.” You will state your case for each man in the form of a legal brief.

THE ACCUSED

|[pic] |Andrew Carnegie (railroads, steel) |

|[pic] |J. P. Morgan (finance) |

|[pic] |John D. Rockefeller (oil) |

| | |

|[pic] |Cornelius Vanderbilt (railroads, shipping) |

ASSIGNMENT: Each group will turn in one legal brief about each man.

Suggested path:

1. In your group, assign each person one man. Individually complete your own research on your man and start writing it into the brief, excluding your decision.

2. Each student should present their individual to the group (each student needs to have knowledge of each person for the AP Exam). The group should decide as a whole whether each man is a robber baron or captain of industry.

3. Once a decision has been made about each, the original researcher may complete the brief and turn it in for a grade.

Robber Barons or Captains of Industry?

Group Verdict/Legal Brief

I.     Introduction

This is a short (one sentence) summary of the keys points you are making in the brief.  Very much like a thesis statement, it is intended to give the reader a quick understanding of the arguments you are making, without providing the details of each argument and without citing the authorities you will be relying on to support your arguments.  The purpose is to persuade the reader -- from the very beginning -- that your position is correct by catching the reader's interest and attention with a relatively short, punchy summary of the main points your brief is making.  (ex. ____________________ is a captain of industry because ____________, _________________, and ______________________)

 

II.    Background (Biography)

This section should present the facts the reader needs to know to be able to get to know the man (brief bio) so the reader can follow and understand your arguments.  You need to cite the authorities that you rely on for each fact you state, such as a book, article, or website in which you found that particular fact.  This section is important in establishing the credibility of your facts, by showing that you have not made them up, but instead you are relying on the scholarship of highly-regarded authorities on the given subject.

 

III.   Argument

This section is the "guts" of the brief.  It is a logical presentation of the key arguments you are presenting in support of your position.  This section should be divided into several main headings -- the main propositions that form the logical structure of the argument (aka the arguments in your introduction or thesis statement).  Typically, there are three or four principal reasons for the overall position you are taking and each reason is a candidate.

 

Each heading should be in the form of an affirmative statement (usually a sentence in bold typeface to standout and show the way).  After the heading, you then present the reasons why that statement is correct, that is, the affirmative case for why the reader should believe or credit this component of the overall argument.  The discussion below each heading must present your position as persuasively as you can, drawing upon the facts discussed in the Background and any authorities that have taken a position that supports the points you are making in each heading.  When you refer to the facts you don't need to cite the sources because they already have been identified in the Background section. 

 

IV.   Conclusion (Robber Baron or Captain of Industry?)  

Unlike the style used for many journal articles, this is not intended to be a summary of the issues raised in the argument or a wrap up of the reasons why your view is correct.  Rather, the Conclusion in a legal brief is a very short statement of the relief you are asking a court to grant, such as "For all of the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff asks the court to grant judgment in its favor on liability and set a trial for the presentation of Plaintiff's damages."  For the class assignment, you might be asking the reader to conclude that there was no harm (or alternatively, there was harm) caused by the historical events or people the assignment is focused on.  

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