Most Successful Men In The Industrial Revolution

Around this time (1889) big money was being made. There were a select few who made crazy fortunes on their own, in oil and steel, guys like John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie. Andrew Carnegies dream was to have his own steel company that would create the steel from the beginning to the end. When his dreams came true he made a fortune. He was very generous in the way of philanthropy,

Without Carnegie, the steel industry, and the second industrial revolution in general, would never have progressed as much as it did. Carnegie did what was necessary to make the steel industry more productive and more efficient, for less money. He was a shrewd, ruthless, businessman who’s aggressiveness made the steel, railroad, and oil industries so economically successful. These characteristics, though not always looked upon as nice or sympathetic, were sometimes necessary. He had paid his time as a poor factory boy, and now it was his turn to live comfortably and aid others less fortunate to work towards the same success.

During the last week of June, Frick laid off many workers, which angered the union and other workers even more. Henry's intent of the Pinkertons was to take over the mill (Gardner p. 66). The Pinkertons brought over 200 crates full of Winchester Rifles. On June 29, despite the union's willingness to negotiate, Frick closed the mill and locked out 3,800 men. "Two days later, workers seized the mill and sealed off the town from strikebreakers. Frick called in a private police force, the Pinkerton Detective Agency, to protect the non-union workers he planned to hire"(American Heritage p. 14). The workers had become so angered that it was an endangerment to the non-union workers that Frick had hired, and they needed a way of protection.

Cornelius Vanderbilt was born with some wealth from his father, who was a ferry owner, he made quite a bit of money from it too. When he was younger he joined his father, watching his ways and learning them too. In Vanderbilt’s teen years, he bought his first ferry, which was the start of his big successful business life. He was very,very smart with money, he knew how to get it but he didn’t know how to use it. He grew up to own many steamships and he became the country’s largest steamship owner, then he later in life put all of his riches towards railroads, and he had railroads all across the nation leading from place to place, making money by the minute, because of his success in the railroad business, he became the richest man in the nation. So in a way, Vanderbilt was a captain of industry but he was majority a robber baron.

     Let us first look at Mr. Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie was a mogul in the steel industry. Carnegie

Carnegie didn’t let the Industrial Revolution that destroyed his father’s business destroy him. As a young boy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Carnegie began working in a factory. He despised this position but it made him stronger and he pushed on in his hunt for his new future. In so doing, he was able to gain a fresh outlook with a position in a telegraph office. From here, he developed a skill that all successful business men need to master; Carnegie learned the artful skill of making business connections. This new talent is what led Carnegie to his relationship with Thomas Scott. Scott helped Carnegie by getting him a job with Pennsylvania Railroad. This position was a crucial turning point in Carnegie’s career.

According to Les Standiford from scotsman.com, “Carnegie had his plant manager post a notice that the works would close for an indefinite period and that 1,600 men would be put out of work with the stated reason being plant renovation. But Carnegie had resolved that the real purpose was to drive out the unions, only non-union men would be rehired when they reopened the plant. By February of 1885, with the men facing starvation and freezing temperatures and no money to buy food or coal, they agreed to come back in under individual contracts, their wages decreased by up to 33%. The union was crushed forever at the plant."[3]. This quote directly shows the ruthless nature Carnegie had when it came to his business, despite his good views on life and spending money, and even agreeing with workers unions, he does not want them to get into his factories and increase the prices it cost him to pay is workers. He was willing to put off thousands of workers in the dead of winter with them unable to afford food or proper heating due to the lack of work, just so that he could prevent costs of labor increasing. Another similar case was when Carnegie attempted to avoid harming his public image while dealing with protests, according to learningtogive.net, “While expanding his steel empire, Carnegie ran into a series of labor relation problems with Homestead Works, a rival steel mill with the most modern equipment and technology available that he had purchased. The problems began when the workers organized a strike. Carnegie instructed his associate, Howard Frick, to handle the situation however he deemed necessary. Because Carnegie was seen as a friend of the worker and usually handled similar situations by

Two of the most well-known and successful companies of the Industrial Revolution were the Standard Oil Company, and the Carnegie Steel Company. Both were exceedingly successful in virtually removing all competition in their respective fields of business and controlling almost all of the production capacity of their respective products in the United States. Their founders, John D. Rockefeller of the Standard Oil Co., and Andrew Carnegie of the Carnegie Steel Co. conducted business practices that were different from one another in how they dealt with competition as seen in the undercutting or cheap type

In conclusion, J.P. Morgan is considered more of a “Captain of Industry” for today’s modern age than a robber baron. America would have been a whole different country without his contributions towards society, especially if he didn’t start the many companies and industries during his

In the movie, The Richest Man in the World, Andrew Carnegie played a major role in influencing the Industrial Revolution, which changed the economy of the US and the world forever. This era brought upon significant changes through economic developments that would not only change the ways of the economy but also the social aspect of society, especially within the cities where this growth was located. The shift from hand-made to machine-made products increased productivity and decreased costs. Through the innovations of the new forms of energy, such as iron, and then steel, establishments of factories began, competition between businessmen arose, and innovations of transportation in the city through railroads and bridges developed. The

William Vanderbilt was an American businessman whose wealth was derived from the thriving railroad industry of the late nineteenth century. He was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1821 and died at age 64 on December 8, 1885. During this time, he led the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, the Canada Southern Railway, and the Michigan Central Railroad. He took over as president for these organizations for his father. His father, Cornelius Vanderbilt, brought the railroad business to his family. Upon his death, William Vanderbilt was the richest man in the world. His success can be attributed to his ability to capitalize on the transportation revolution that swept America years ago, and only remained to expand and grow with the

Cornelius Vanderbilt gained much of his wealth and prominence through hard work in the railroad and shipping industries (Cohen n. pag). BY the time he died, his railroad company he owned was worth well over one-hundred fifty million dollars. Most of his estate was left to his son William, George’s father ("Vanderbilt, Cornelius [1794-1877]" n. pag). While in control of the Vanderbilt fortune, William doubled the size (The Vanderbilt

Well Carnegie steel business was a great success but all he was trying to accomplish was to be richer than John D. Rockefeller and make him pay for the mistake of cutting of his apprentices railroad business. While working for the railroad company Carnegie began making investments. He made

Cornelius Vanderbilt was the most powerful railroad baron. He earned a fortune for himself in the steamship line. He also combined the New York and Harlem and New York and Hudson estate ferry boat operations. He established a connection between New York and Albany to make Lake Shore and Michigan Southern link Buffalo with Chicago. When he died he owned and operated nearly 4500 miles of track between New York City and most of the important cities in the Midwest. He left his fortune to his son, unlike the others he did not donate to many organizations. The only contribution he gave was to support the, now, Vanderbilt College.

Cornelius Vanderbilt was a steamship and railroad tycoon. He made millions in the steamship business before turning to the promising railroad industry. He began to take capital from the steamship business to buy railroads, starting with the New York and Harlem Railroad in 1862. Vanderbilt eventually amassed over $100 million from his railroad empire and his wealth and power was virtually untouchable. He was a ruthless businessman, once saying to a competitor “You have undertaken to cheat me. I won't sue you, for the law is too slow. I will ruin you.” His New York Central rail line operated from New York to Chicago along more than 4,500 miles of track at the time of his death.