Some historians have characterized the industrial and business leaders of the 1865-1900 period as robber barons who used extreme methods to control and concentrate wealth and power. to what extent is that characterization justified based on the historical evidence?

The Robber barons' characteristics of capitalists were true to some extent as they tend to make use of unethical practices in order to accumulate more wealth.  

Robber barons are regarded as those people who possess strong power in the economy to influence the economic and political activities in their favor of gaining profits.

The methods employed by rich and wealthy businessmen or industrialists are forming monopolies and other violent methods to remove any competition in the market.

For example, the famous robber barons of the 19th century were Henry and Cornelius Vanderbilt who were focused on maintaining their wealth and property in their industries.

Learn more about robber barons leaders of 1865-1900 here:

link

Shortly after Reconstruction, people saw the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. During the Industrial Revolution, industry leaders would sometimes use scandalous methods for their own personal gain. For example, Jay Gould allowed William Boss Tweed to run one of his railroads, and in turn Boss Tweed would ensure that legislatures would pass what Gould wanted. Because of this, most historians depict some of these business/industrial people as “robber barons,” people that did horrible things for wealth. Although some of these methods to gain profit were extreme, most of these methods were ways to make more money. Through new waysto produce materials faster, monopolies, and Social Darwinism, these “robber barons” were nothing more than business people.

formulating the initial idea for the policy

answer is c.