Compare And Contrast The Men Who Built America

Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, and Henry Ford were a group of motivated individuals that played a very important role in creating America. After watching “The Men Who Built America” I learned a lot about what these powerful men did to make our country the way it is today. One of the first men to become successful was Cornelius Vanderbilt, born on May 27, 1794 in New York City, New York. At the age of 16, Vanderbilt decided to begin his own ferry service. He began by transporting freight and passengers between Staten Island and Manhattan. In the 1860s, Vanderbilt switched from shipping on ships to the railroad industry using steamships. He made over $25 million in just 5 years of being in the railroad industry. He also gained control of most of the railways that ran from New York all the way to Chicago. This gave him the power to control these railways on the East Coast. In 1871, Vanderbilt opened the largest train station in world, Grand Central Depot, which is located in Manhattan. This station was eventually torn

He was born on November 25, 1835 in Dunfermline, Scotland. Before his success, Carnegie worked a series of jobs in railroads after moving to the U.S. He also began making minor investments while still working for railroads. Carnegie realized that these investments were bringing in significant returns, especially ones in oil. He wanted to focus on his other business interests like the Keystone Bridge Company, so he quit the railroad jobs. He started dedicating most of his time to the steel industry during the next decade. His business changed the way steel was produced and manufactured in the U.S. Carnegie built plants around the country, using different methods and new technology that made producing and manufacturing steel easier and faster. He was the owner of Carnegie Steel Corporation by 1889. It was the largest in the