There have been multitudes of people who have made drastic differences in the United States, but a key figure in History is Cornelius Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt went from an eleven year old school dropout to the wealthiest man in the United States. This self-made millionaire changed trade and transportation in the United States forever by building a railroad industry. Americans could travel across the country in less than half the time and buy products they could have never before. His railroad industry connected those in the north, south, east, and west in ways that were unprecedented. Vanderbilt was never recognized for his philanthropy, but made generous donations to universities and churches. Cornelius Vanderbilt was one of the most …show more content…
Cornelius was born to a ferryman and a farmer and dropped out of school at age eleven to help his father on the waterfront. By age sixteen, Cornelius wanted to be a boatman so he told his mother he would plow an eight acre field for a loan of $100. With this money Cornelius began his transportation company between New York and Staten Island. His business flourished and he was able to give his mother $1,000 in return. Vanderbilt was soon recognized for, “being capable, reliable, and honest,” (Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History). His business began to expand even more when the War of 1812 occurred; He was able to make a three month deal with the government to supply the forts around New York. The money he made from this enabled him to buy more vessels. Vanderbilt kept building and expanding his industry and by the age of forty his wealth had grown to $500,000. Cornelius’s drive at a very young age enabled him, an average boy in America, to become America’s first …show more content…
Vanderbilt went from a school dropout at age 11 to the wealthiest man in the United States by the end of his life. Vanderbilt’s life shows the possibilities of the American Dream: he had a dream, he pursued it, and he lived it. Even though Vanderbilt was criticized for his fierce business tactics and intense drive, these qualities are what pushed him to be successful. Cornelius Vanderbilt’s great success and self-made background are what make him one of the most significant men of the gilded
Cornelius Vanderbilt was a captain of industry. He came from a poor family and turned into a captain of industry controlling 85% of rail road and inspiring others to follow suit. He did many great things and not so great. Went from making a steamboat ferry to Grand Central Station. By the end of his life he had more than $100 million dollars.
Robert Fulton, Edward K. Collins and Samuel Cunard are a few political entrepreneurs, that Folsom tells about. All three of these men worked in the steamboat industry and received federal aid to run their businesses. Also, they all had high prices for passenger fair and mail postage. Unfortunately, Cornelius Vanderbilt, a market entrepreneur, defeated Fulton, Collins and Cunard.
During the 1800’s, business leaders who built their affluence by stealing and bribing public officials to propose laws in their favor were known as “robber barons”. J.P. Morgan, a banker, financed the restructuring of railroads, insurance companies, and banks. In addition, Andrew Carnegie, the steel king, disliked monopolistic trusts. Nonetheless, ruthlessly destroying the businesses and lives of many people merely for personal profit; Carnegie attained a level of dominance and wealth never before seen in American history, but was only able to obtain this through acts that were dishonest and oftentimes, illicit. Document D resentfully emphasizes the alleged capacity of the corrupt industrialists. In the picture illustrated, panic-stricken people pay acknowledgment to the lordly tycoons. Correlating to this political cartoon, in 1900, Carnegie was willing to sell his holdings of his company. During the time Morgan was manufacturing
At this time, Vanderbilt had emerged as a top leader in the railroad industry during the 19th century and eventually became the richest man in America. Vanderbilt is making it abundantly clear to Americans that his only objective is to acquire as much wealth as possible even if it is at the expense of every day citizens. Another man who echoed such sentiments is Andrew Carnegie. In an excerpt from the North American Review, Carnegie takes Vanderbilt’s ideas even further and advocates for the concentration of business and wealth into the hands of a few (Document 3). Carnegie suggests that such a separation between the rich and the poor “insures survival of the fittest in every department” and encourages competition, thus, benefiting society as a whole. Carnegie, a steel tycoon and one of the wealthiest businessmen to date, continuously voiced his approval of an ideology known as Social Darwinism which essentially models the “survival of the fittest” sentiment expressed by Carnegie and others. In essence, he believed in widening inequalities in society for the sole purpose of placing power in the hands of only the most wealthy and most
Cornelius Vanderbilt was born in Port Richmond on Staten Island, N. Y. in 1794. Cornelius at the age of 16 had already stepped into the busniess world and he didn’t even know it. At 16 he entered into the steamboat business when he established a freight and passenger service between Stanton Island and Manhattan. Little did Cornelius know this would be one of the key ways he would make his millions upon millions. Cornelius entered the steamer business in 1818, and bought his first steamship in 1829. Cornelius was not a laid back guy nothing was ever good enough for him. If you had and Cornelius Vanderbilt wanted it there wasn’t much you could do to keep him from getting it. This is the kind of attitude that put him on top of the world. After establishing his steamboat Vanderbilt became a very vigorous competitor, lowering his rates while also making his ships top of the line. Vanderbilt the entrepuner himself soon controlled must of the Hudson River. After awhile his fellow competitors in the steamboat business paid him to take some of his traffic elsewhere so that he wouldn’t get all the work. By 1846 Vanderbilt was a very wealthy man and with wealth he learned cam power. He became widely know as the Commodore Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt sold his steamboats in 1862 and began buying railroad stocks. In a mere 5 years Vanderbilt used his power to uphold most of the New York Central Railroad system. Vanderbilt like in his steamboats strived to be the best in the railroads now. Vanderbilt established many railway systems during his railroad career maybe his most famous was that of the one that connected New York and Chicago in a direct rail route in 1873. At the time of Vanderbilt’s death in 1877 he was worth over 100 million dollars the most at that time.
As mentioned, it is accurate to allot the title of “robber baron” to the industrial leaders of the time in that they employed various, considerably unethical, methods in order to obtain untold riches. Such a notion is quite evident in William H. Vanderbilt’s own words, that, “[t]he railroads are not run for the benefit of the ‘dear public’-that cry is all nonsense they are built by men who invest their money”. (Document A) Vanderbilt even goes so far as to say something such as, “[t]he public be damned”, so to demonstrate he does not care for the opinion and state of the public, but rather only of his own and of his fellow financiers. Such statements prove that Vanderbilt sought to further his wealth, whether or not ...
.... Others might be influenced by the way he showed he cared about the future leaders of America and built them a school so they could strive for excellence. Most people are influenced by the several inventions Thomas Jefferson had every day. These are the reasons why Thomas Jefferson is the most influential person of the 1800’s. Without him, our country would be in an everyday struggle with supplying food to the world. Thanks to him, food is much easier to produce and distribute, and everyday struggles have become easier.
In Harold C. Livesay’s Andrew Carnegie and the rise of Big Business, Andrew Carnegie’s struggles and desires throughout his life are formed into different challenges of being the influential leader of the United States of America. The book also covers the belief of the American Dream in that people can climb up the ladder of society by hard work and the dream of becoming an influential citizen, just as Carnegie did.
The Vanderbilts were an extremely wealthy family of the time. George W. Vanderbilt grew up in one of the richest families in the United States. George Washington Vanderbilt was born in 1862. He was one of eight children. He attended the Columbia University at the age of sixteen. He originally purchased the land for his mother, who was often sick. He had never intended for the house to be open to the public.
Cornelius Vanderbilt is most recognized in the United States history for building the New York Central Railroad System and expanding this system to be over 2,400-miles long. From when Vanderbilt was only eleven-years-old, to the day he died, he was working hard, making money, and becoming known as one of the richest persons of, not only his time, but all time. Vanderbilt was also known for his impeccable business skills in the boating and railroad industry, and how he made such a fortune through these two things. Throughout United States history, many people are admired for their hard work and dedication to their businesses and how successful they are in their fielf, but Cornelius Vanderbilt will always be remembered as the most successful, competitive, hard-working, and intelligient businessman in the hisstory of the United States. (Childhood, Life Achievements & Timeline: Who Is Cornelius Vanderbilt? Everything You Need to Know. Page
He was already in his later years by the time the Gilded Age rolled around and didn't even get to see the uprising of some of the greatest leaders of the time. The railroad companies took advantage of their necessity by constantly overcharging customers, especially farmers. This led to one of the first labor unions in the United States, an organization known as the Grange.... ... middle of paper ...
Despite their numerous connections, there is great conflict between the different economic classes in The Great Gatsby, those being old money, new money, and the scarcely discussed, no money. Separated by the lake, West Egg and East Egg never cease to oppose one another. Fitzgerald shows the effect excessive capital has on people, emphasizing that money is power. Since Tom Buchanan comes from old money, his family fortune has simply been passed onto him; he doesn’t have to work to achieve his social status. Conversely, Jay Gatsby is required to put in the hard work and go to the extremes to get where he is. Tom Buchanan can easily be compared to the well-known Paris Hilton. What great successes is she truly known for? Solely being related to the founder of Hilton Hotels, she has never truly had to make a name for herself. When it comes to Gatsby, if one is capable of overlooking his illegal means of doing so, he is forced to work for his fortune. Steve Jobs, in comparison, also worked for his money, having originally begun his billion dollar company in his garage.
The American standard of success has always been defined by the effort put into receiving this success. Some are lucky and have success come with ease, others have to put in a great deal of work and even then they still fall short of their desired position. Throughout, “The Great Gatsby”, F. Scott Fitzgerald scrutinizes the collapse of the American dream through Jay Gatsby. Through the eyes of Nick Carraway, the readers experience the rise and fall of Jay Gatsby’s successes. From the initial sequences of the novel it is apparent that wealthiness is the point of which you are judged in the time period the book takes place.
The popular culture on the Gilded age became a very important subject due to the increase of recreations and leisure. “Most Americans knew no more about the lives of the very rich than what they read in their newspapers and magazines, and these media were developing as never before.” Readers enjoyed romantic, sentimental and love stories such as Horatio Alger, Jr. and his successful “rags to riches” young heroes; and Lew Wallace and his sensational epic success, Ben Hur.” These novels frequently offered the reader to escape from the real world.
Some significant individuals that contributed with the era and played important roles were Andrew Carnegie, John. D Rockefeller, Thomas Edison etc. Thomas Edison contributed to this era by being one of the bets known inventor in this era, he invented many major inventions such as the ones that involved electricity. For instance the power railways, larger generators, developed the incandescent lighting, and improved the light bulb. Andrew Carnegie richest man of the world saw himself as a hero of the working people, yet he crushed their unions. He cut the wages of the workers who made him rich; together with his partner Henry Clay they broke the steel unions. After Carnegie sold his company to J.P Morgan in 1901 he turned his energies to philanthropy and the pursuit of world peace. By the end of his death he was remembered for his generous gifts for instance his 3000 public libraries, and given away $3 billion dollars. John D. Rockefeller founder of the Standard Oil Compa...