John D Rockefeller Captain Of Industry Essay

Millionaires and Monopolies

As America continued to embrace its independence and embark on new ventures in the areas of transportation and economic activity, new ways of product production and economic activity surfaced, thus bringing a level of economic prosperity very comparable to that of the 1920s. Such a boom of newfound wealth and monetary gain led to a few individuals becoming known as Captains of Industry. These individuals included Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and J.P. Morgan.

Andrew Carnegie was born November 25, 1835, in Dunfermline, Scotland, to parents Will and Margaret. The second born in the family, Andrew had joined the workforce at the age of 13 after traveling and settling into Pittsburgh. Earning

Rockefeller was also a widely known figure and peer if Andrew Carnegie. Rockefeller was born into a wealthy family on July 8, 1839, in Richford, New York. He grew up with a deeply religious mother, who had ingrained to him the importance of giving back. In school Rockefeller was an excellent student in the subject of math and had the ability to solve complex mathematical equations. This skill came into great use after he began his career as a bookkeeper. Those who knew him personally described him as an "exact and honest" man. In 1864, Rockefeller had gotten married and dove into the oil refinery business one year later. It wasn't until the year 1870, however, that he and five other men founded the Standard Oil Company. Said company was able to make the price of oil drop a whopping 85%! In its first year, the company only controlled 2-3% of the nation's crude oil, but that drastically changed in a decade. Soon over 90% of US gas stations were controlled by Rockefeller and his business. Through both vertical and horizontal integration, Rockefeller was able to single handedly monopolize the entire oil industry. So much so that, at one point in history, 80% of the world's oil production was under his control. Not only did this man create a fortune, but he is also credited for the creation of gasoline. With all of this success, however, came multiple scandals involving the Rockefeller name. Despite the public state of this misfortunes, he continued on with life, even

Rockefeller, and Cornelius Vanderbilt carry large fortunes to their names, but so did J.P. Morgan. However, what made J.P. Morgan stand above all the others was his complete and utter control over all the money floating through the nation’s banks. John Pierpont Morgan, also known as J.P. Morgan, was a man who earned a living through the banking systems. Gaining a college-leveled education in Germany, Morgan was exceptional at math and began his career as a clerk on Wall Street. Through many years of hard work, J.P. eventually held as much power as a world leader and had an amount of money so large that during the Panic Of 1907, the government had turned to him for financial support, narrowly saving it from a depression. Not only did the government turn to him during economic rough patches, but Carnegie, Rockefeller, and even Vanderbilt had to use money that he controlled in order to create their businesses. He controlled every single dollar and penny on a national scale. He eventually bought out Carnegie Steel, combined it with 7 more businesses, and created the world’s first billion dollar enterprise. The company was simply known as US Steel. morgan cited his two grandfathers as an influence on him. Morgan wasn’t the only member of his family to go down in history for accomplishing something great. For example, his uncle John L. Pierpont created the timeless Christmas tune “Jingle Bells” for Thanksgiving, though it was initially deemed