Men Who Built America

“Men Who Built America” was based off Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Ford, and Morgan. Each played a very important role in making America what it is today. Rockefeller made a monopoly off of standard oil. Vanderbilt made a monopoly of the railroad system in America while Carnegie made a monopoly from steel. The men had many accomplishments throughout their lives.

Andrew Carnegie was born on November 25, 1835, in Dunfermline, Scotland. In 1848, the Carnegie family moved to America in search of better economic opportunities and settled in Allegheny City Pennsylvania. Andrew Carnegie found employment as a bobbin boy at a cotton factory, earning $1.20 a week. Ambitious and hard-working, he went on to hold a series of jobs, including messenger in a telegraph office and secretary and telegraph operator for the superintendent of the Pittsburgh division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1859, Carnegie succeeded his boss as railroad division superintendent. While in this position, he made profitable investments in a variety of businesses, including coal, iron, oil companies, and a manufacturer of railroad sleeping cars. After leaving his post with the railroad in 1865, Carnegie continued in the business world. With the U.S. railroad industry then entering a period of rapid growth, he expanded his railroad-related investments by having an iron bridge building company and a telegraph firm, often using his connections to win insider contracts. By the time he was in his early 30s, Carnegie had become a very wealthy man. In the early 1870s, Carnegie co-founded his first steel company. Over the next few decades, he created a steel empire, maximizing profits and minimizing inefficiencies through ownership of factories, raw materials and tran...

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...he growth of the economy and stock market increased the job opportunities. Between the five dollar/day plan, Ford’s policies on administrating the company, and his relations with his customers, Ford was often presented as a suspicious character. This controversial behavior showed the success of the company, it did not lead to his own downfall as many suspect. Of course, there were not always supporters of Henry Ford. If fact, there were many critics who believed that Henry Ford was so controversial that it prevented the potential of Fords from becoming greater than it is today. By the mid twenties the Ford’s was already the world's most successful automobile company, but their great reputation would soon decline.

These are the men who changed America for the better. Without them we would not be where we are today. I view them as a positive impact on our lives.