Vanderbilt's Power

According to Google Dictionary, democracy can be defined as control of an organization or group by the majority of its members. This means power should be divided among the population and not centralized in one location or placed in the hands of one man. If going by this definition, Cornelius Vanderbilt posed a major challenge to democracy in the United States by monopolizing the railroad industry, manipulating the legislature and his competitors into doing exactly what he wanted them to do, and by passing down the majority of his fortune in an attempt to build a Vanderbilt dynasty.

The majority of Vanderbilt’s power came from his many successful corporations. Notably, Vanderbilt’s control over the New York Central Railroad, the Hudson River Railroad, and the New York and Harlem Railroad gave him almost complete control over the railroad industry in New York. He had very little competition. When one person has complete control of a service this is called a monopoly. The threat of a monopoly frightened many Americans; they believed the Commodore

would have too much power for anyone to stop him, including the government. “Vanderbilt is but the precursor of a class of men who will wield within the state a power created by it, but too great for its control, explains Charles Francis Adams.”
Vanderbilt was an incredibly powerful man who always found a way to get what he wanted.

Another way he challenged democracy was by buying off legislature and controlling how they voted. Vanderbilt’s enormous fortune gave him great power; however, one of the Commodore’s greatest attributes was his ability to manipulate others into doing what he wanted them to do to further his own agenda. An example of Vanderbilt’s wit is his ability to plan schemes out years in advance. He would set traps and patiently wait for others to fall into them then he would swoop in and takeover. Charles Francis Adams, Jr. described Vanderbilt by saying he “has sought to make himself a dictator in modern civilization… As trade now dominates the world, and the railways dominate trade, his object has been to make himself the virtual master of all by making himself absolute lord of the railways.” No amount of power was ever enough for

Vanderbilt.
Cornelius Vanderbilt strived for immortality; he wanted his name to live forever. The Commodore tried to turn the Vanderbilt name into a powerful dynasty that would maintain control of America for years to come. In an attempt to do that, he trained his eldest son to take over the family business and left him the majority of his wealth, the way kings or other nobility pass down the crown in a monarchy. Jay Gould referred to Vanderbilt as the “king of everything.” Unfortunately, there is no place for a king in a democratic nation like the United States.