Cornelius Vanderbilt's Impact On American Business

Henry Villard was a ship and railroad tycoon, therefore he owned many railroads and ships. One of the major railroads that he owned was the Northern Pacific Railroad. Villard did not start this railroad. In fact he bought the Northern Pacific from another railroad tycoon- Jay Cooke.

America has been changed due to the accomplishments of many entrepreneurs, such as Cornelius Vanderbilt. Cornelius Vanderbilt started as the owner of one steamboat, and slowly built his one boat into a fleet of many boats. As the International Railroad was nearing completion Vanderbilt did the unthinkable he sold his entire company of boats and bought a rail line. Vanderbilt then began to slowly buy out other lines, until he eventually owned most of the lines in the east. Vanderbilt's net worth was eventually an astonishing 215 billion dollars in today's money.

The death of President Lincoln sparked a new era in the United States. It set forth new boundaries for what would take place in the American frontier. At age 16, Cornelius Vanderbilt bought his first ferry boat with a loan of $100. With his shipping industry well under way, he was given the nickname of “The Commodore”. He was very competitive and earned the reputation of being a “cut-throat” business man.

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius V. helped with railroad transportation, he was known as being the largest steamship operations in his country. In the 1860’s he built an empire, this empire helped with railroad transportation. Before he built an empire he decided to focus on the railroad industry. Before he worked on railroad transportation he was a steamship captain. Cornelius had a very illiberal personality also known as a competitive person.

One of the greatest achievements that Taft created was the railroad system.

The railroad was first designed by George Stephenson whose original idea was to use steam to run the train and make transportation faster. When the US started using railroads and trains they purchased them from the Stephen Works company from Britain. “In the 1850s a boom in railroad development across the North was changing business organization and management and reducing freight costs. Railroads were influencing a rise in real estate values, increasing regional concentrations of industry, the size of business units and stimulating growth in investment banking and agriculture.

Towards the end of the 19th century America was going through a period of change. Businesses were booming, agriculture was on the rise, and inventions were pouring out like a seemingly never ending waterfall. The West was starting to develop with the addition of rails. However, overexpansion caused many railways to go bankrupt.

He had designed his business so that when farmers made more money, he made more money so it was a win-win for both parties. He began to expand his interest and started buying coal mines, iron mines, Great Lakes steamships, and waterpower facilities. He also used a lot of his time, effort, and money to improve and expand agriculture in Minnesota. Another thing that he used his railroad for was transportation. He had built tracks to and from Canada, the pacific northwest, and the lower midwest.

In the nineteenth century, transportation, most importantly the railroads, became the height of American life. With the rise in business national transportation and communication networks were created and became part of the new transformation of the American economy. However, the rise in business also brought some downfall because several railroad workers did not agree with what was happening. The Pullman Strike resulted and became a pivotal moment in history.

He used his boat to ferry passengers and goods between Staten Island and Manhattan… Selling his ferry business, Vanderbilt went to work for Thomas Gibbons in 1817, running a steam ship line between New York and New Jersey. Over 12 years, Vanderbilt became an expert in the operation and design of steam ships. He 1829, he resigned to launch his own business… He sold his interest in steamers and turned to Wall Street, the financial heart of the nation in New York. In a short period of time, he quietly bought up a number of railroads to form the New York Central and Hudson River line, one of the largest businesses America had ever seen.

Some might say that he is not a captain of industry, but there are always two sides to every story. His life is very interesting, as he was a true rags-to-riches story. His parents were farmers, and his father occasionally ferried produce and merchandise between Staten Island and Manhattan. And it was due to this that he gained interest in boats. Eventually, he managed to acquire a fleet of small boats, and through this he was able to acquire his first fortune.

Cornelius Vanderbilt keeping buying different steamboat companies which is called robber baron. Due to the war of 1812 Cornelius Vanderbilt had the opportunity to expand his company and he did. Cornelius had signed a contract that he could supply military forts around New York and because of the amount of money he made he was able to expand even more. He expanded to the Long Island Sound, Providence, Boston and Connecticut. Cornelius Vanderbilt also added two more steamboats to the coast to help out on trade and transporting people (Encyclopedia World).

In turn, railroad companies spent large sums of money purchasing railroad supplies. The cycle of employing large numbers of workers, building the railroads, and spending large sums of money stimulated extraordinary growth in the economy. In addition, railroads caused the remarkable growth of nationwide marketing in America in the late 19th century. Railroads allowed mail-order

One of the main railroads he wanted was the Erie. Instead of selling it all to him, Gould and Fisk sold him only shares which made Vanderbilt lose millions. This made Vanderbilt angry, but caused him to realize that there are way too many railroads and he will not be able to make money off of them unless they are transporting something of value.

Vanderbilt, and Rockefeller for that matter, are often treated poorly by many people or uneducated historians. As they are affectionately called "robber barons" (a term given to them by their competition), these entrepreneurs are often viewed as the greatest thieves of society, despite the fact that there was no consensual taking involved in their success. These "monopolists" of the 19th century oversaw the creation of the platform which lead to the rise of America as an economic superpower in World War I and World War II. The American industrial revolution, and these monopolists involvement are essential to America's success. America, like some Western European nations like Great Britain, Prussia and France, oversaw the expansion of efficient travel, manufacturing, and the increased quality of life for many of the working poor.