Industrial Titans or Robber Barons?

CASE BRIEF: Andrew Carnegie and his peers built an industrial empire — and drew sharp criticism for how they built it.

TASK: Use political cartoons, wage tables, and Carnegie's "Gospel of Wealth" to judge whether Gilded Age industrialists were titans or robber barons.

EVIDENCE: Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth excerpt - A political cartoon critiquing monopolies - A factory wage/hours comparison table

ANALYZE: How does Carnegie justify enormous wealth? What does the cartoonist want the viewer to feel? Do the wage data support or undercut Carnegie's argument?

BUILD A CLAIM: Decide: were Gilded Age industrialists more titan or more robber baron? Support your verdict with evidence from all three sources.

RUBRIC: Directly engages Carnegie's own words - Interprets the cartoon's visual argument - Uses wage data as evidence, not decoration