<span>Railroad, steel mill, oil and other industrial businessmen were called robber barons. The connotation was often used during the American Great Depression in the 1930's. It was alleged the owners such as Cornelius Vanderbilt, Carnegie Mellon and John D. Rockefeller amassed their fortunes using unethical and exploitative practices to build their financial empires. This included not just unfair and harsh treatment of workers but also accusations of swindling and bribery of officials to accomplish monopolies, licensing, zoning, and other favorable treatment to build and expand the businesses.</span>
One of the ways in which changes in farming on the Great Plains during the late 1800s and early 1900s signified an agricultural revolution was that "<span>c. Farming was transformed from self-sufficient family operations to big business," since the demand and availability of crops was much greater during this time. </span>
