In the film, “The Men who Built America,” the industrialists: Vanderbilt, Morgan, Edison, Rockefeller, and Tesla all used industrialism in order to generate their fortunes and to “build America.” Each industrialist came up with plans and ideas that would allow/help them to dominate their competitors and to benefit their companies to the fullest. Cornelius Vanderbilt was interested in becoming apart of the railroad business, he was aware that the growth in the future would not be by water but by way of rail. He was interested in railroad transportation and he knew that he wanted to take over Rockefeller’s company. The two industrialists met up and they both wanted to make a deal, the oil business was beginning to expand and he decides to shut the deal with Rockefeller and move …show more content…
onto another railway owner...Tom Scott. Tom Scott was becoming more and more powerful, and he wanted to create a business monopoly.
Vanderbilt’s railroads had a networth of 75 billion dollars. He has shaped America by connecting locations in America, and has made easy transportation for all individuals. JP Morgan began in the banking industry, only to end up teaming up with Edison and his brilliant plans in order to create the lightbulb that used direct current (D/C) The lightbulb was the first form of electricity and without it today, lighting in rooms and outside lighting would not be possible. However, Morgan was not yet satisfied with the power he had… he needed more, Morgan secretly began to buy out Edison’s company, and changes the name from “Edison’s General Electric” to “General Electric.” Morgan began to gain control of the stocks of the railroad, he became one of the world’s most powerful railroad magnates, controlling about 5,000 miles of American railroads in the 1902. Morgan also successfully led American financial community’s attempt to avert a general financial collapse following the stock market panic of the 1907. They were the beginning of the industrial movement, and more industrialist were still to be
discovered. Not only was Morgan doing good in the electrical business, but George Westinghouse and Tesla was also doing well in his business. Tesla had created A/C electricity, he took his idea to George Westinghouse and got an investment. While Westinghouse was promotics A/C, Morgan was promoting D/C, the competition was furious and lead to Edison trying to convince people that A/C was dangerous, he would kill animals in front of people using A/C in order to get his point across. Morgan created a monopoly with Tesla by making him selling over his patents, which made Morgan’s wealth increase drastically. It was challenging to maintain power over a competitor, competition was common and the strongest industrialist/company would always come out on top. The next industrialist that helped shape America was John Rockefeller. Rockefeller reshaped the oil industry, many people saw people saw crude oil as a wasteful product, but Rockefeller used it to convert it into kerosene. He shipped many of his products through the railroads, and the company's loved to get all of his business, due to the wealth that it also brought to the railroad business. Rockefeller had to ship his oil, adventually the standard oil became the largest producer of kerosene, and he owned 90% of the North America oil supply. However, Rockefeller ended up not using the railroads anyway and this plummeted the railroads wealth because they no longer had Rockefeller’s business. Rockefeller’s success was showing, he had built a 4,000 mile pipeline between refineries in order to get the oil to all places. Rockefeller had great success: he showed the world kerosene, he gave business to railroads, and he also found ways to make standard oil into a “refined” product, and became the first billionaire in America. The wealth that Rockefeller had allowed individuals the access to get their oil more conveniently… shaping America. Without the help from Vanderbilt, Morgan, Edison, Rockefeller, and Tesla, America would not be the same as it is today, we would not be able to have efficient electricity, accessible oil, railways, or steel. These men have competed with each other in order to compete with business and by giving America the best products in order to benefit societies future.
Andrew Carnegie, the monopolist of the steel industry, was one of the worst of the Robber Barons. Like the others, he was full of contradictions and tried to bring peace to the world, but only caused conflicts and took away the jobs of many factory workers. Carnegie Steel, his company, was a main supplier of steel to the railroad industry. Working together, Carnegie and Vanderbilt had created an industrial machine so powerful, that nothing stood in its path. This is much similar to how Microsoft has monopolized the computer software
The industrial leaders, Robber Barons, of the 19th century are men who are very respected and admired. Andrew Carnegie was a boy from Scotland who came over to this country with nothing. He continued to save and work his way up in the industry until he had complete control over the steel industry. John D. Rockefeller was also one who came from an ordinary home. When he saw an opportunity, he took it, along with the risks. He came to control the oil industry. Another man that took many opportunities to expand and grow was Cornelius Vanderbilt. These men saw what they needed to do to become successful and they did it. These men's' lives reflected the Darwinian ideology of the times, "survival of the fittest".
Industrial development of the late 18th century (around 1865-1900) is often characterized by it’s affluent, aggressive and monopolistic industrial leaders of the likes of men such as Andrew Carnegie, William H. Vanderbilt, and John D. Rockefeller. Due to their ruthless strategies, utilization of trusts, and exploitation of cheap labor in order to garner nearly unbreakable monopolies and massive sums of wealth, these men are often labelled as “robber barons”. At the same time, they are also often referred to as “industrial statements” for their organization, and catalyst of, industrial development; not to forget their generous contributions to the betterment of American society. Therefore, whether or not their aforementioned advances in industry were undertaken for their own personal benefits, one cannot ignore their positive effects on America. Thus, one can conclude that not only were the captains of industry both “robber barons” and “industrial statements”, but that that these two labels, in fact, go hand-in-hand.
The Makers: Women Who Make America is a three-part documentary about the history of the women’s liberation movement. It originally aired on PBS but can now be found on youtube. It is the story of different women and women’s movements that have impacted how a woman can now choose to live her life. No longer are we stuck barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, but women can work outside of the home in whatever career she chooses. This documentary looks at the foundation that has been laid thus far and all the strife women went through to get where we are today.
the early American economy was described by littler, nearby markets, revolved around huge urban communities. The boundless extension of the railways in the late 1800s changed this, entwining the nation into one national business sector, in which merchandise could be transported available to be purchased the nation over. The railways likewise gave a gigantic force to financial development since they themselves gave such an enormous business sector to products steel and timber, for instance. In the late nineteenth century the railways spoke to the primary "enormous business." The railroad business was the biggest single boss of work in the U.S., and institutionalized America financially, socially, and socially.
John D. Rockefeller and other members of his family produced the fuel that powered America and Europe. In fact, 85% of the world's kerosene supply was produced in a company of Rockefeller's in Pennsylvania. J.P. Morgan, a giant in finance was equally successful by capitalizing small businesses and taking private corporations public. His genius for investing and financing was known world-wide. Because of Morgan and investors like him the American economy grew at a rate that the world had not seen before. His "Gentlemen's Agreement" brought stability to a railroad industry that was unstable because of it's incredible growth. The agreement regulated rates, settled disputes and imposed fines for companies that did not abide by the terms of their contracts. J.P. Morgan helped create a centralized banking system and paved the way for what was to become The Federal Reserve. Henry Ford a corporate giant in transportation built the Ford Motor Company and
The Civil War had just ended and Lincoln was shot and killed. The United States is growing rapidly because of the railroad and certain types of men. One man is Cornelius Vanderbilt. He wasnt a politician but he was the lead America needed at the time. He was an intelligent business man. He was self made. When he was 16 he bought a ferry on a loan of 100 dollars and turned that ferry into tons of ships. He was so good at shipping he earned the nickname “The Commodore”. Vanderbilt realizes that the railroad is growing rapidly and that is where he needs to make his bank. He sells every bit of his ships and invests all his money into the railroads. He will soon turn out to look like an economical genius. When the war ended he was the wealthiest
The movie Older Than America is an informational narrative of the treatment of indigenous people in the United States. The fourth cinema is a movement in which people of indigenous backgrounds tell the stories of their people, in a realistic and less Hollywood style. The Movie, Older Than America, is set both in the present and in the recent past, and explores the conflict of identity which plagues many native people. It poses the question; does it wipe the war paint off the lens? My answer to that is yes, it more than scratches the surface of the mistreatment of “Human Beings” by Euro-Americans. The demonization of the Catholic Church, and its duplicity in the abuse of its power over helpless children was the overriding story in this film. In this film the Catholic Church is representative of the United States
During the 1800’s, America was going through a time of invention and discovery known as the Industrial Revolution. America was in its first century of being an independent nation and was beginning to make the transition from a “home producing” nation to a technological one. The biggest contribution to this major technological advancement was the establishment of the Transcontinental Railroad because it provided a faster way to transport goods, which ultimately boosted the economy and catapulted America to the Super Power it is today.
James B. Weaver was a populist party candidate in 1892, in his speech ‘The Call to Action’ he referenced the Oatmeal trust of 1887. This trust decided to close part of its mills that “stood idle” and raise the price of oatmeal by a dollar. This business integration took jobs of former employees and raised prices unfairly, cutting corners by producing only seven million barrels of wheat. This tactic isn’t fair to consumers or workers, and it’s unfair. Ida Tarbell, an investigative journalist focused her attention on John D. Rockefeller's company ‘Standard Oil’ and composed the ‘History of Standard Oil Company’. According to Tarbell Standard Oil created a ”remarkable scheme” which competitors couldn’t fight for very long. Standard Oil demanded cheaper rates on their moved oil or ‘rebates’ from railroad companies. This unfair tactic allowed Standard Oil to lower their prices dramatically which would eventually decrease competition. What Tarbell alluded to in her piece was that when a monopoly is achieved over the industry, Standard Oil would be able to raise prices without refutation. William Vanderbilt, the son of the 19th century industrialist Cornelius Vanderbilt conducted an interview on the railroads constructed during his father's’ era. According to Vanderbilt, the businesses that
Throughout the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century, the United States economy changed dramatically as the country transformed from a rural agricultural nation to an urban industrial gian, becoming the leading manufacturing country in the world. The vast expansion of the railroads in the late 1800s’ changed the early American economy by tying the country together into one national market. The railroads provided tremendous economic growth because it provided a massive market for transporting goods such as steel, lumber, and oil. Although the first railroads were extremely successful, the attempt to finance new railroads originally failed. Perhaps the greatest physical feat late 19th century America was the creation of the transcontinental railroad. The Central Pacific Company, starting in San Francisco, and the new competitor, Union Pacific, starting in Omaha. The two companies slaved away crossing mountains, digging tunnels, and laying track the entire way. Both railroads met at Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869, and drove one last golden spike into the completed railway. Of course the expansion of railroads wasn’t the only change being made. Another change in the economy was immigration.
After the Civil War had ended a new age of industry was brought on to America. Because of natural resources like coal and iron ore, steel was a big product of american factories that helped to grow and expand the economy. Transportation and Technology also contributed to the growth of corporations in America. Ruthless and driven entrepreneurs bought more and more companies creating monopolies over industry like steel, oil, and the railroads. The Entrepreneurs became extraordinarily powerful in not only American economy, but also politics. From the end of the Civil War till the beginning of the twentieth century, large businesses on America and its people.
From the late 1800s to the early 1900s, the Gilded Age was a time of American inventions and innovation. As the work place transitioned from rural plantations to industrialized cities, specialized farmworkers stood no chance against a handful of powerful businessmen. A large majority of the socioeconomic power resided in the hands of large corporations, as they dominated the economy and its workers. In Makers, Takers, and Fakers, the author specifically targets Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller who monopolized the steel and oil industries, respectively. Although the author believes the development of the large corporations during the Industrial Revolution hindered the pursuit of the individual’s American Dream, the large businesses actually set the foundation for today’s economy and offered new opportunities for success.
There is no refuting that the railroad companies transformed business operations and encouraged industrial expansion. The raw materials required for construction of the transcontinental railroad directly resulted in the expansion of the steel, lumber and stone industries. (Gillon p.652) The railroad stimulated growth in manufacturing and agriculture providing an efficient manner to ship raw materials and products throughout the country. Which in turn, increased consumerism and introduced t...
...steel business in the world. This boom of steel made Andrew Carnegie dominate in the industry. He supported the steal, elevated trains, and iron rails by his creation of the steel business. Andrew Carnegie used vertical integration, defined above, in order to make his business successful. Andrew’s biggest rival was John D. Rockefeller, who was the king of the oil industry. Though Rockefeller had tactical marketing strategies, he was demanding illegal rebates with the railroad companies in order to keep his business alive. He then had to pioneer a trust which meant that he would gives shares to trustees who hold the stocks “in trust” for their stockholders. J.P. Morgan comes into play with his finance capitalism, consolidation, and elimination. I believe that each these people had their own power and success and not one of them had better successes then the others.