Titans of the Twentieth Century Throughout the course of history, many people have influenced the lives of the American people and the economic course of the United States. Although only a little over two hundred years old, the United States has rapidly gained its economic power through the great minds and incentives of its people. During the early twentieth century, many Americans saw the prosperity that America had to offer. John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, and Andrew Carnegie took advantage of the growth of America and helped to shape the American business, economy, and society into what it is today. The life and career of John Davidson Rockefeller is a story of American economic development that led to great success. Born in 1839 in Richford, New York, Rockefeller built an economic empire. Rockefeller’s first interest in acquiring money first began through his church involvement. He volunteered to raise $2000 for a church debt. Later Rockefeller confessed, "The plan absorbed me. I contributed what I could, and my first ambition to earn more money was aroused by this and similar undertakings in which I was constantly engaged."(1) He began his career as a humble oil business bookkeeper in Cleveland, Ohio and in just seven years rose to control a tenth of the entire United States oil industry.(2) In the late nineteenth century, the oil industry was open to everyone. Sensing the commercial potential of the expanding oil production in western Pennsylvania in the early 1860’s, he built his first oil refinery near Cleveland in 1863.(3) He created new oil related companies such as engineering and pipeline firms that seemed to be independent operators. Rockefeller and his close colleagues, Andrews and Flagler, secretly co... ... middle of paper ... ... Carosso, 281-282. 22. Carosso, 338-342. 23. Carosso, 361-363. 24. Carosso, 376. 25. Carosso, 389. 26. Harold C. Livesay, Andrew Carnegie and the Rise of Big Business (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1975), 45. 27. Livesay, 7-8. 28. Livesay, 40-42. 29. Livesay, 28 30. Livesay, 54. 31. Livesay, 93. 32. Livesay, 93-106. 33. Livesay, 132. 34. Livesay, 140. 35. Livesay, 187-189. 36. Livesay, 192. BIBLIOGRAPHY - Carosso, Vincent P. The Morgans, Private International Bankers 1854-1913. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1987. - Flynn, John T. God's Gold. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1932. - Livesay, Harold T. Andrew Carnegie and the Rise of Big Business. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1975. - Nevins, Allan. John D. Rockefeller. New York: Charles Scribner's Son, 1940.
It's said that before John D. Rockefeller died, "he gave away about $550,000,000 to charity, more than any other American before him had ever possessed" (98). His money went to schools, churches and also "paid teams of scientists who found cures for yellow fever, meningitis, and hookworm"(97).
The Gilded Age refers to a period in which things were fraudulent and deceitful; the surface was clinquant while underneath that lustrous coat laid corruption. During the Gilded Age companies recruited to corrupt methods to further increase profits, leading to an increase in power, rapid economic prosperity, and domination of industries, leading to monopolistic corporations. As a result, antitrust laws to regulate business began to emerge in the late 19th and early 20th century known as the Progressive Era. Among these companies was Standard Oil, which was founded in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller; in 1880, Standard Oil was responsible for refining 90 percent of America’s oil and between 1880-1910, dominating the oil industry (Marshall). The lack of intervention from the government and regulations impeding monopolistic practices allowed Standard Oil to
Matthew Josephson agreed that Rockefeller was indeed a "robber baron". In the book Taking Sides, he claims that Rockefeller was a deceptive and conspiratorial businessman, whose fortune was built by secret agreements and wrung concessions from America's leading railroad companies (Taking Sides 25). When John D. Rockefeller merged with the railroad companies, he had gained control of a strategic transportation route that no other companies would be able to use. Rockefeller would then be able to force the hand on the railroads and was granted a rebate on his shipments of oil. This was a kind of secret agreement between the two industries.
Many people consider Rockefeller a robber of industry because of his forcible ways of gaining his monopolies. Rockefeller was fond of buying out small and large competitors. If the competitors refused to sell they often found Rockefeller cutting the prices of his Standard Oil or in the worst cases, their factories mysteriously blowing up. Rockefeller was obsessed with controlling the oil market and used many of undesirable tactics to flush his competitors out of the market. Rockefeller was also a master of the rebate game. He was one of the most dominant controllers of the railroads. He was so good at the rebate that at some times he skillfully commanded the rail road to pay rebates to his standard oil company on the traffic of other competitors. He was able to do this because his oil traffic was so high that he could make or break a section of a railroad a railroad company by simply not running...
The american society will not look like this today without Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller and JP Morgan. They took astonishing risks to attain that success. They created an innovation that no one could ever imagine. Andrew Carnegie, John D, Rockefeller and JP Morgan, are the empire builders and pillars of American Society because they have changed the way we think and created a new way of living.
True, Andrew Carnegie and John D Rockefeller may have been the most influential businessmen of the 19th century, but was the way they conducted business proper? To fully answer this question, we must look at the following: First understand how Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller changed the market of their industries. Second, look at the similarities and differences in how both men achieved domination. Third and lastly, Look at how both men treated their workers and customers in order achieve the most possible profit for their company.
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".
Businessmen of the Gilded Age like Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan, and Vanderbilt were captains of industry. Industrialists economically improved the United States by contributing the most money, which was made from the successes of their companies. In addition, they were financially beneficial to communities and set an example of philanthropy and lifestyle for others to follow. Moreover, they resorted to unscrupulous tactics not only for their financial gain, but for America’s financial gain as well.
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.
...mpanies, it eventually came to the point where they couldn’t keep up and eventually became a part of Standard Oil. By the time Rockefeller had reached the age of 40, his company had controlled all national oil refining by 90% and about 70% of international export of said oil.
Rockefeller was America’s first billionaire, and he was the true epitome of capitalism. Rockefeller was your typical rags-to-riches businessman, and at the turn of the twentieth century, while everyone else in the working class was earning ten dollars max every week, Rockefeller was earning millions. There has been much discussion as to whether Rockefeller’s success was due to being a “robber baron”, or as a “captain of industry”. By definition, a robber baron was an industrialist who exploited others in order to achieve personal wealth, however, Rockefeller’s effect on the economy and the lives of American citizens has been one of much impact, and deserves recognition. He introduced un-seen techniques that greatly modified the oil industry. During the mid-nineteenth century, there was a high demand for kerosene. In the refining process from transforming crude oil to kerosene, many wastes were produced. While others deemed the waste useless, Rockefeller turned it into income by selling them. He turned those wastes into objects that would be useful elsewhere, and in return, he amassed a large amount of wealth. He sold so much “waste” that railroad companies were desperate to be a part of his company. However, Rockefeller demanded rebates, or discounted rates, from the railroad companies, when they asked to be involved with his business. By doing so, Rockefeller was able to lower the price of oil to his customers, and pay low wages to his workers. Using these methods,
People like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J.P. Morgan are men who possessed the intellect, the foresight, and most importantly the work ethic to become powerful industrialists. These men displayed their work ethic to the country by being ruthless and tireless. They started something so important that a hundred years later it is still making a huge contribution to our country (Maury Klein pg. 32). What they started was the industrial revolution. Today our country is the most powerful in the world because of our great wealth.
During the last 40 years of the nineteenth century the United States became the worlds greatest economic power. The rapid rate of economic growth happened for a
Rockefeller was born in New York State in 1839 and educated in Cleveland, Ohio. Rockefeller became the first billionaire in America by monopolizing oil. The oil business had a lot of competition, and Rockefeller had the great idea of creating a cartel, named South Improvement Company, to reduce competition. He took opportunities, made deals with Railroad companies with strategies like spying and bribing. By 1872, Rockefeller’s Standard Oil controlled 90 percent of the refining oil business, and became the first monopoly of the era. He retired in the mid-1890s and devoted his time to philanthropy. Also, he contributed money to churches and donated money to schools, mostly for
John D. Rockefeller, born on July 8, 1839, has had a huge impact on the course of American history, his reputation spanning from being a ruthless businessperson to a thoughtful philanthropist (Tarbell 41). He came from a family with not much and lived the American dream, rising to success through his own wit and cunning, riding on the backs of none. His legacy is huge, amassing the greatest private wealth of any American in history. Rockefeller’s influence on our country has been both a positive and a negative one, he donated huge sums of money to various public institutions and revolutionized the petroleum industry. Along with all the positives to the country, Rockefeller also had many negative affects as well, including, by gaining his riches by means of a monopoly, often using illegal methods, by giving others a reason to frown upon capitalism, and by hurting smaller businesses.