The men who built America is a series that portrays the life some of the richest men in America’s

When Vanderbilt was younger, he worked with his father on a shipping boat. He worked as a steamboat captain, then went into business for himself in the late 1820s. He gained some wealth from his shipping industry, but in the 1860s he shifted his focus to the railroad industry. Vanderbilt gained control of a number of railroad lines between New York and Chicago. So he gained his wealth from the railroads

Since he was a filthy rich man, he knew how to get the money, easily, whether it was making small deals with someone or finding another rich man and making a deal with him, he knew how to get it. Other than being smart about his money, he did not meet up to the title of a captain of industry because he treated his workers poorly and he had them build the railroads in awful conditions, whether is would be poorly dressed or bad weather. Also, their pay was very low. They should’ve been paid more than what they got for working so hard to build the railroads for Vanderbilt, to make him money. He was partially a captain of industry but he more so fit the picture of a robber

Cornelius “ Commodore” Vanderbilt is known as the man who industrialized the American railroad. He owned and and operated a majority of railroads in the country and was one of the richest men in America. When he past, his empire was given to his son. William H. Vanderbilt is shown in Document 1, which is an interview with the Chicago Daily News in 1882. It shows how ruthless the Vanderbilt empire truly is. William denounces the public for their use of the limited express, saying that he does not care for anyone's wellbeing other than his own. William Vanderbilt speaks on how railroads are not built for the public but instead for investors, which shows his materialistic nature. This information is coming first hand by William Vanderbilt himself, as he speaks of his consumers as if they

This film was based on the time period, as Calvert describes it in The Myth Of The Old South, downloaded May 8, of the Antebellum South, filled with large, prosperous plantations and big white, columned houses. In the Old South, before any equal protection laws were ratified, slavery was a central and important part of

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

Rockefeller was an American business tycoon. His early life made an impact on him with his father’s odd habits and parenting. His father was a traveling salesman who regularly cheated on his wife; even cheating on her when he was home. His father regularly “ cheated” his children by lying to them. He made the excuse that it would make them strong. John did not let this affect him. He got a job at an early age and used this experience and knowledge to become a business partner. By the end of the year the company had made half a million dollars. He used this money to open an oil refinery. He and a few others created the Standard Oil Company, in 1870. Within two years they had owned a majority of the oil refineries in Cleveland. They, in nearly a decade, had a monopoly on the US oil refinery

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

During the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, the railroads themselves created a large market for the steel and iron industries.4 The steel and oil industries were booming and corruption was rampant. Andrew Carnegie had cornered the market in the steel industry and John D. Rockefeller had cornered the oil market. Rockefeller bought up his competition after essentially putting them out of business by flooding the market with refined oil bringing down prices and profits. He was determined to pay no one a profit because he wanted it all for himself. He created a plan called vertical integration which consolidated his businesses into one by creating The Standard Oil Trust.5 These two men became known as barons and got rich beyond belief. In 1890, the Government enacted the Sherman Anti-Trust Act to prevent large firms from controlling one single industry and finally put a stop to these monopolies and trusts, 6 but it was not rigorously enforced until the 1900’s. This act was designed to restore competition and

Gould purchased stock in the Rutland and Washington Railways during the Panic of 1857 for ten cents on the dollar. During the era of the Civil War, he invested in even more railroad stocks. In 1863, Gould was appointed to be the manager of the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railways. One of the most popular and significant of Gould’s railroad ventures was known as the Erie War. The Erie Railroad was initially built with money received from the public through taxes and land from public and private developers. Another captain of industry, Cornelius Vanderbilt, was interested in this railroad. A ‘war’ began over who would control this railroad, and because

Were these powerful industrialists trying to get rich and powerful no matter what strain it puts on their workers and competitors? Or were they an example of the American dream, an industry leader who improved the nation and helped his people? Industrialists like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller were sometimes criticized and said to be Robber Barons. However, they were not, both men increased the economy drastically, created millions of jobs for Americans, and donated large amounts of money to charities like The Carnegie Institution and various Philanthropic causes. Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller were Captains of Industry, not Robber Barons.

Throughout the American History there’s been several people and events that have influenced the economy of the United States both positive and negatively. The Gilded Age, for instance, was a period where the growth of industries quickly took place leaving many great fortunes and wealth. The Robber Barons were businessmen responsible for taking control of major industries; and with so, they took most of the credit due to the fact that they shaped the economic landscape we experience in today’s daily living. Yet many people believe that the Robber Barons where greedy capitalists pigs even with the many opportunities they built such as large industries, technological changes, countless jobs for the Americans, and many other factors that benefited

In the video “Men Who Built America” some back grounding from the video have to do with Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Carnegie, and his side along worker Frick. America had just now bounced back from the Civil War coming back stronger than ever. Vanderbilt used force against the people to build his major railroad. On the other side we have Rockefeller; he created a complete monopoly of all oil industries. Carnegie found a new product (steel) making America rise from the ground to the sky with new structures. After finding a new product, Carnegie pushes his workers even harder after a disaster blamed on him but this causes an out burst from the workers and they form a strike. A strike was called due to

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.

The strategies he used with the advancement of these tools at the time weren’t illegal, the only thing he did do was to purchase smaller lines which led to the expansion of his railroad company. This in no way unethical moves of a business it was just an innovative way of using technology at that time. He was known to be such a good competitor; he had two weapons which were superior service and cheap rates (Flynn 183). Vanderbilt was a success in the Hudson but he sought more investment into the railroad industry. Vanderbilt did everything in his power to be the top gun of the railroad industry, that he even bribed the Council called the Forty Thieves, the legislature known as the Black horse Cavalry (Flynn 192). Vanderbilt essentially had it all. He began making better stations with new equipment and sleeping cars for his enterprise as well as cutting cost for consumers (Flynn

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.