Cornelius Vanderbilt's Role In The Steamship Industry

Was John D. Rockefeller a robber baron? I’d say so. Through ruthless business tactics and exploitation of workers, he made a fortune in his lifetime. In this paper, I’m going to be talking about said business tactics and exploitation. If you believe Rockefeller was just a good business man who donated to the poor, I hope your view will be changed by the end.

“The best philanthropy” he wrote, is constantly in search of finalities- a search for a cause an attempt to cure evils at their source” - John D. Rockefeller

In the past, there have been many influential economic figures in the industrial business industry. Andrew Carnegie is one of the most famous of these figures but not just in a business scheme, but also in an economic and national scheme. Andrew Carnegie is a business man that caused a major controversial issue to arise; the topic of being labeled a Robber Baron or a Captain of Industry by the public. A Robber Baron is someone who has become wealthy through heartless and unethical business actions that will only benefit the individual. On the other hand, a Captain of Industry is a business leader who has become rich by accomplishing activities that will, overall, benefit the people of the community such as expanding a market or providing more jobs. There have been many debates on which one

Was Cornelius Vanderbilt a Robber Baron or Captain of Industry? A cruel businessman or an industrious leader? Henry J. Raymond believed that Vanderbilt was “a monopolist that crushed other competitors”(T.J Stiles). While he is also deemed one of America’s leading businessmen, and is also credited for helping shape the United States. His fortunes were made unfairly in some cases but his million dollar contribution to the Navy was very generous. Bill Gates was a wealthy man who might have been greedy and only in for the money. He was also a generous man who employed a lot of people and donated $40 million.

The Gilded Age was an era that transformed from agrarian to industrialized working/businesses and goods. The Gilded Age soon came after Reconstruction and lasted from the late 1860’s to the late 1890’s. During the Gilded Age there were many businessmen that were labeled Robber Barons or Captains of Industry based on their actions of ruthlessness and monopoly or their actions of generosity and kindness. A Robber Baron is a businessman who obtained wealth through cruel manors. A Captain of Industry is a business leader who obtained wealth through positive and generous ways that had a good impact on those around them. History should remember the entrepreneurs of the 1800’s and 1900’s as Captains of Industries or Robber Barons. These entrepreneurs

Born in Richford, New York in 1839, John Davison Rockefeller was the second child of his parents and had five siblings. He did not have an easy and wealthy childhood as his father was a part-time salesman and a full-time philanderer. Therefore, his mother always struggled hard for their livelihood and her first son had to stay away from his family to make more money for lengthy periods.

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.

The Gilded Age, the period of the history of the United States from the Reconstruction to the early 20th century, witnessed the development of industrialization, urbanization, the construction of great transcontinental railroads, innovations in science and technology, and the rise of big business.

There are so many views when considering the industrialists of late 19th century to be captains of industry while others consider them as Robber barons because they like practicing a system called the monopoly. Monopoly . they built huge companies and practice unfair businesses; which make them drive their counterparts out of business; and when they do such things, they are stealing businesses from competitors. Most people refer to them as the king of the American industries during the 19th century. Some viewed them as greedy, unprincipled and corrupt.

Throughout history, wealth was kept within the family, totally opposite of what we see and expect from most successful business people of today. To bolster the notion that these industrial pioneers were not solely in it for themselves, men like Rockefeller gave millions in charitable donations. Carnegie even wrote a book about how to effectively spread money to the commonwealth as well as teaching the lower classes how to provide for themselves. In fact, Carnegie’s book was given to Bill Gates, a man known for his charitable contributions. As if these Statesmen’s giving nature were not enough, their impact on the world war was extraordinary; without them, America would have been left in the dust. Henry Ford’s invention of the assembly line and Vanderbilt’s mass transit of industrial goods through the means of railroads was pivotal to the United States success. In summation, while some may have suffered under the rapid transition of agriculture to industrialization, the benefits created far outweigh the negatives. Many of the problems created can simply be wrote off as growing pains felt by the nation. To call these men robber barons is a gross misunderstanding and factually

During the 19th century, industrialization impacted the United States in many way. Industrialists, like John D. Rockefeller, owned or were involved in management of an industry. At the time, these agents were considered a “Robber Baron,” while others were considered a “Captain of Industry.” However, many were considered good because they were philanthropists.

The United States of America has gone through many eras in its young, two-century history, driven by innovation and progress through the various individuals and groups that have contributed with long lasting effects. It is important to note, however, the conflicts that came along with it. Throughout America’s history, many people have attempted to create progress in their social, economical, and practical lives as they see fit. This sometimes led to conflicting interests, and the high-stakes nature of their pursuits caused turmoil in the form of turf wars, stemming from each side’s efforts to push for their own goals.

Cornelius Vanderbilt saw the trouble coming. By 1873, the 79-year-old "Commodore," as he was called, was no stranger to risk: calculated bets with steamboat and railroad companies had made him by far the richest man in America. But he was wary of overexpansion by the railroads in the West, skeptical of economic weakness abroad and loose credit at home, and disdainful of the new "gang of stock speculators in Wall Street"—which included some of his own clan. When big banks began to fall on Sept. 18, 1873, he immediately understood what was wrong. "There are a great many worthless railroads started in this country without any means to carry them through," he told a reporter that evening. "Respectable banking houses in New York, so called, make themselves agents for sale of the bonds of the railroads in question and give a kind of moral guarantee to their genuineness." Vanderbilt did not play a direct role in the unfolding of the Panic of 1873—though the president and the people alike looked to him for guidance as the leading businessman of the age. But better and quicker than most, he grasped how the economy worked, for it was, in some sense, his own invention.

John Davison Rockefeller Sr. once stated “If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success” (John D. Rockefeller Quotes). John D. Rockefeller was the founder of Standard Oil in which then became one of the wealthiest men in the world. Rockefellers ongoing funding as a philanthropist and trust in oil is how the man's name still lives on to this day (The Rockefeller Archive Center). For thousands of years oil has been a main resource for human consumption, and remains the same. Rockefeller has made an impact on the industrial revolution by changing and monopolizing the oil industry to bigger and better ideas. His funding to major organizations and schools, and motivation towards younger generations to push forward with his

In the 1860’s America started building the first continental railroad. It provided a cheap and efficient way to transport products from one side of the country to the other. One man in particular had a great impact on the industrialization of America, Cornelius Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt had a poor upbringing, but at the age of 16 he bought a ferry, over the next 40 years he built the largest shipping empire in the world. Vanderbilt sold all of his ships and invested everything in railroads. He owned 40% of all the railroads in America, but he wanted them all. So he closed down the Albany bridge creating a blockade prohibiting the rest of railroad from entering the busiest port, New York City. Other railroads started going bankrupt, so the presidents