#2- Cole and Logan- Were big business leaders "captains of industry" or "robber barons"?
With that being said they can also be seen as robber barons since they also forced their employees to work long hours in dangerous conditions for little money. This is inhumane and should have been stopped to prevent loss of lives and to allow people to work for a profit that would not only allow them to live though the week but also have some for savings for such things as college and transportation to come in the following decade.
#3- Zach - Should business be Regulated Closely by Government?
Big business needs to be regulated otherwise people can do whatever they want, however they want. If employers could control workers, why would they want to work? Laws need to be put into place so that employees can work in safe environments. Monopolies also need to be shut down so that competition can occur, therefore reducing prices and making businesses find ways to improve efficiency. Businesses should also not be able to control other businesses, like railroads for example. Businesses can prosper, but they need to be contained.
With that being said they can also be seen as robber barons since they also forced their employees to work long hours in dangerous conditions for little money. This is inhumane and should have been stopped to prevent loss of lives and to allow people to work for a profit that would not only allow them to live though the week but also have some for savings for such things as college and transportation to come in the following decade.
#3- Zach - Should business be Regulated Closely by Government?
Big business needs to be regulated otherwise people can do whatever they want, however they want. If employers could control workers, why would they want to work? Laws need to be put into place so that employees can work in safe environments. Monopolies also need to be shut down so that competition can occur, therefore reducing prices and making businesses find ways to improve efficiency. Businesses should also not be able to control other businesses, like railroads for example. Businesses can prosper, but they need to be contained.
#5- Ryan- Can workers attain economic justice without violence?
No, violence was absolutely necessary to bring about change for the simple reason that government was on the side of the big businesses. The workers were of many, but they were weak. They not only needed to convince the greedy leaders of industry that change was needed, but they also needed to show the government that the nation was suffering and these businesses needed to be regulated. If they were to simply protest or go to the government, they would have been fired and ignored as simple insects. The government had become too dependent on these major businesses to listen to the people they were suppose to serve. But the only chance that the government could be brought to pay attention to the working and farming class again was if they saw they were bleeding, suffering, and dying. This was the only way that the government could be brought to it's senses.
No, violence was absolutely necessary to bring about change for the simple reason that government was on the side of the big businesses. The workers were of many, but they were weak. They not only needed to convince the greedy leaders of industry that change was needed, but they also needed to show the government that the nation was suffering and these businesses needed to be regulated. If they were to simply protest or go to the government, they would have been fired and ignored as simple insects. The government had become too dependent on these major businesses to listen to the people they were suppose to serve. But the only chance that the government could be brought to pay attention to the working and farming class again was if they saw they were bleeding, suffering, and dying. This was the only way that the government could be brought to it's senses.