Rise Of Big Business And Robber Barons In The 19th Century

The rise of Big Business and robber barons in the 19th century made social reforms and the progressive movement necessary. In the years following the Civil War, there was a rise in business in the U.S. According to US History, over 600,000 patents and inventions were made during this period, and several monopolies were formed. (pg512) Three of the largest were; Standard Oil, John D. Rockefeller, Carnegie Steel, Andrew Carnegie, and the New York Central Railroad System which was owned by Cornelius Vanderbilt. These corporations operated under the rights promised individuals in our Constitution. Millions of American's were suffering as a result, and reform became necessary. These reforms changed our Constitution and the way business operated in the US. John D. Rockefeller grew up in New

His father was a farmer, who also worked part time transporting goods across the bay from Staten Island to Manhattan. This is where Cornelius got his start. (Beck) He had a reputation for being a ruthless business man and in Wolff's "First Tycoon" he states "Vanderbilt, whose career gave rise to the term robber baron." By the time he was a teenager he had his own delivery route, and soon owned a fleet of boats. He then went on to steamships where he got the nickname, Commodore. In the 1860's he began his career in the railroads. (Wolff) According to David Beck in "Rise of a Tycoon" "Vanderbilt was the apostle of free competition, burying but also befriending his business enemies....his free-market practices led inevitably to what today we would call price fixing, insider trading, and restraint of trade." The many books are written about Cornelius Vanderbilt all share the same theme. He was a shrewd, persuasive businessman. Many of the laws pertaining to business were written to protect the American public from robber barons like Vanderbilt. At the time of his death, Vanderbilt was worth over 100 million