Cornelius Vanderbilt A Robber Baron

Also, if you look at today’s society there is no over using that term the people in the 19th century were not use to people having great wealth and being over these big corporations, well we are. Robber Barons were seen as the portrayal of these big businessmen, as a warlike bandits, cheating and plundering their way to millions. It was any man with wealth over a big corporation that was considered a Robber Baron. But, that is not was a Robber Baron is! A Robber Baron is a ruthlessly powerful U.S. capitalist or industrialist considered to have become wealthy by exploiting natural resources, corrupting legislators, or other unethical means.

They began to realize that the government was mostly controlled by the wealthy and mostly benefitted them. The 1824 presidential election results proved their sentiments even more because even though the War Hero of the West Andrew Jackson had the most electoral votes, the wealthy New Englander John Quincy Adams became President. When the next election came, the

The American Dream for non-whited in American during the early 1900’s was non existant. Fritzagerald shows through his characters the distortion entitlement and greed of their American Dream. This is shown when Gatsby says “I was brought up in America but educated at Oxford because all many ancestors have been educated there for many years. It is a family tradition.” Gatsby was not born wealth but was able to gain the money.

Cornelius Vanderbilt, also famously known as ‘Commodore Vanderbilt’ was one of the richest men in America. He was born on May 27, 1794 on Staten Island, New York. He was brought up in a poor family including a tragic death in his family. At age eleven he dropped out of school and started working on boats which, brought about an interest in the shipping industry. Then at age sixteen he bought his very first ferry with a one hundred dollar loan.

Of course, the work was very dangerous, pay was minimal, and conditions were horrific. The scrawny boys were about the age of twelve and had a forever-present coat of coal on them from head to toe (Doc G). Because of this, they were enemy to farmers and industrial workers alike. In conclusion, these elite businessmen were ruthless, powerful leaders better defined as robber barons than captains of industry.

Chosen by Roosevelt, Taft easily proceeded to the office as the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was an enthusiastic lawyer, but not as prominent as other great presidents. His legislation like Payne-Aldrich Tariff did little change to the society. However, he made a brilliant decision in his administration, passing the Mann Act which “a man who ‘ships’ a women across the lines of a state—making it ‘interstate commerce’ —for immoral purpose is guilty of felony” (The Evening Telegram 7). This act reflected another field of reform during the Progressive Era.

“John Quincy Adams had approached the presidency with several political responsibilities. John Quincy had failed to develop the relationships needed for the presidential role he had participated in. His opponents had their mindset as to have him a one-term president.” The first year of his four year term, he had proposed many programs that he knew would further the science as well as make the spirit of the enterprise and inventions increase and better in the United States. He had helped increase the highway and canal building in the United States, which linked to different parts of the country helping the public lands of the conservation.

Our history books rarely mention him (Miranda), though his doings are in there. From earning his way into King’s College to writing 51 out of the 85 Federalist papers to getting shot in a duel, Alexander Hamilton is a true American self-made man

However, there is also government aid to help build the railroad to connect east and west. For the transcontinental railroad, government aid meant twenty sections of land for every mile of rail laid and two mortgage securities. Investors would be a lot more secure and would possibly still gain something if the railroad failed. There was also the government subsidies, so there was a smaller risk as it wouldn’t just be the investor’s money going into the railroad, but the governments as well.

So, how did we get so far into debt? Most people would start small, but not the United States of America. Our debt first surfaced during the Revolutionary War in 1776 when George Washington borrowed $75 million dollars to pay for the war and Its casualties(SPCR 2011). Even though it was promptly compensated for, this action started a trend of borrowing to govern. George Washington took the easy way out by printing more money and borrowing from himself.

A modern example of a successful non conformist is President Donald J. Trump. Donald Trump is a very successful businessman who has seen over the years lots of corruption in the United States government. He points out the Obama Administration who racked up 19.947 trillion dollars in debt. When he announced he was running, the media took it as a joke and gave a huge bias towards Hillary Clinton also know as Crooked Hillary. Logical people noticed this and began to see how bad the current politicians were and wanted a person who was there for the people, and not for self benefit.

In the gilded age of 1890’s and the early twentieth century. Four men had a negative and positive impact on the twenty-first century. John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J.P Morgan, and Cornelius vanderbilt were called robber barons. Robber barons were people who took over the economy by doing anything possible to take over. They did things like monopolizing railroads, banking industry , oil, and steel industries.

Vanderbilt and Rockefeller both transformed the country. Both men had huge impacts on the country and how they transformed the industry of America. Vanderbilt started his business at the age of 16 where he bought his first ferry with a loan of 100 dollars he was a hard and smart businessman \which made him 40 years later have the largest shipping company in the world. Seeing that railroads were being built and knowing they were gonna change how goods will be shipped forever he sold all his ships and invested everything into the railroad business. Which payed off then tragedy struck him when his favorite and smartest son died in the civil war.

John D. Rockefeller in my opinion is a robber baron; The term robber baron was used in the 19th century to describe a group of industrialist who were creating enormous personal fortunes. Many people believed he used unethical business practices to amass his extraordinary wealth. John had a drive to become one one of the richest people in America. During Rockefeller's time the average person was making around 8 to 10 dollars per week, but Rockefeller was worth millions. Rockefeller did use some tactics that were questionable.

J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie were great inventors of their time but they did things that made them Robber Barons. One large reason why they are a robber baron is that they wanted to get more money without caring for anybody working for him or working with their companies. J.P. Morgan was criticized for manipulating the financial system in order to make more money for himself. J.P. Morgan made a successful bank that is one of the leading banks today, CHASE. John D. Rockefeller made his money by creating an oil business.