To What Extent Was Cornelius Vanderbilt A Robber Baron

At the age of 11 (in 1805), Vanderbilt dropped out of school to work for his father for a few years by providing transportation services. These services were low level, but in 1810, they proved to be very profitable for Vanderbilt. Using a loan from his parents, he started his own passenger and freight service, he beat a lot

In the early 1860s, Vanderbilt started withdrawing capital from steamships and investing in railroads. He acquired the New

The Hudson River Railroad attracted Cornelius Vanderbilt because it was clear that the railroads was the smart money and this industry is what made Vanderbilt one of the most wealthiest man in the late 1800s. In fact, Vanderbilt anxious to control the Railroads between New York City and Albany lead to the acquisition of the Harlem Railroad and gain control of the New York Central. Therefore, in 1864 Vanderbilt became the new owner of the Hudson River Railroad. Overall, the Hudson River Railroad brought a more faster transportation and unified more those communities along the Hudson

Vanderbilt donated a lot of his larger ships to the Union Navy, but the rest he sold for sum of nearly $30 million. Vanderbilt bought the New York and Harlem Railroad along with the Hudson Railroad when he was 70 Years old. These railroads ran along the Erie Canal. After this the ruthless Vanderbilt wanted New York Central Railroad. He shut down the Hudson Railroad Bridge in order to gain control over opposing railroad companies. When he shut down the bridge, he let the other companies bleed until their stocks were really low and he bought as many as he could. He gained complete access to three companies, The Hudson Railroad, The Harlem Railroad, and The New York Central Railroad. Vanderbilt then brought all of his railroads together to make the Grand Central Depot, which was the largest building of its time. The Grand Central Depot would be later named the Grand Central Station. Vanderbilt’s railroads helped the country transport goods and people. The railways let America expand and develop from ocean to

William Vanderbilt was an American businessman whose wealth was derived from the thriving railroad industry of the late nineteenth century. He was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1821 and died at age 64 on December 8, 1885. During this time, he led the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, the Canada Southern Railway, and the Michigan Central Railroad. He took over as president for these organizations for his father. His father, Cornelius Vanderbilt, brought the railroad business to his family. Upon his death, William Vanderbilt was the richest man in the world. His success can be attributed to his ability to capitalize on the transportation revolution that swept America years ago, and only remained to expand and grow with the

Throughout American industrialization, large industries were run by some of the richest men in history. These men got the nickname “robber barons” due to their creation of large monopolies by making questionable business and government activities, and by taking advantage of their workers to succeed. But in The Myth of the Robber Barons by Burton W. Folsom, he argues against these claims, and he takes a deeper look into some of America’s richest and most successful men. By specifically looking at Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, James J. Hill, the Scranton family and many more, Folsom believed that these so-called robber barons were actually entrepreneurs with a drive to succeed, leading to an improvement in American lives.

In a book published in 1991 by Burt Folsom, The Myth of the Robber Barons is essentially a book about two theories competing against one another, which is the political versus the market entrepreneurs. The book adamantly persuades the reader into believing market entrepreneurship has provided Americans with greater results versus political entrepreneurs featuring from real life scenarios to back up Mr. Folsom claims. He pointed out several market entrepreneurs in his book such as J.D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, James Hill and Charles Schwab as ones who helped changed the economic climate for Americans by providing superior and lower-cost products and/or services than its competitors. Mr. Folsom continued to shine light on several political

A Review of The Myth of the Robber Barons a book by Burton Folsom JR.

The Myth of Robber Barons discusses some of the major entrepreneurs in of the United States from 1850 to 1910. Burton Folsom also discusses these entrepreneur’s key role in their fields and the whole economy of the United States. The entrepreneurs discussed are Commodore Vanderbilt, James J. Hill, The Scranton’s Group, Charles Schwab, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Mellon. We know these men as “Robber Barons,” but Folsom argues that these entrepreneurs succeeded by producing quality product and service at a competitive price. He compares so called “Robber Barons” to the political entrepreneurs who rely heavily on government subsidy and make no improvement.

Cornelius Vanderbilt gained much of his wealth and prominence through hard work in the railroad and shipping industries (Cohen n. pag). BY the time he died, his railroad company he owned was worth well over one-hundred fifty million dollars. Most of his estate was left to his son William, George’s father ("Vanderbilt, Cornelius [1794-1877]" n. pag). While in control of the Vanderbilt fortune, William doubled the size (The Vanderbilt

Cornelius Vanderbilt was the most powerful railroad baron. He earned a fortune for himself in the steamship line. He also combined the New York and Harlem and New York and Hudson estate ferry boat operations. He established a connection between New York and Albany to make Lake Shore and Michigan Southern link Buffalo with Chicago. When he died he owned and operated nearly 4500 miles of track between New York City and most of the important cities in the Midwest. He left his fortune to his son, unlike the others he did not donate to many organizations. The only contribution he gave was to support the, now, Vanderbilt College.

Cornelius Vanderbilt was a steamship and railroad tycoon. He made millions in the steamship business before turning to the promising railroad industry. He began to take capital from the steamship business to buy railroads, starting with the New York and Harlem Railroad in 1862. Vanderbilt eventually amassed over $100 million from his railroad empire and his wealth and power was virtually untouchable. He was a ruthless businessman, once saying to a competitor “You have undertaken to cheat me. I won't sue you, for the law is too slow. I will ruin you.” His New York Central rail line operated from New York to Chicago along more than 4,500 miles of track at the time of his death.

The major wealthy capitalists of the time-Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, J. Pierpont Morgan, and Cornelius Vanderbilt-all played a tremendous role in developing American industry and ultimately the economy as a whole. Through their business ventures, they vastly increased the industrial output of America. For example,

The richest man in the world, in his time, was Andrew Carnegie. His story of success was truly one of rags to riches. After coming to the U.S. from Scotland as part of a working-class family, he moved from job to job, eventually becoming more influential and gaining a large sum of money. Soon he was using his wealth to contribute to many public services, such as libraries and schools. Andrew Carnegie's life and actions have left a long-standing legacy and have contributed greatly to the American way of life, particularly toward education.

fame and fortune was through shipping and railroads, becoming one of the richest men in