The Captains of Industry

Cornelius VanderbiltAndrew CarnegieJohn RockefellerJ.P. MorganHenry Ford

The Captains of IndustryCornelius Vanderbilt=RailroadsStarted with steamboat industryBought and combined 3 railroadsVanderbilt University

The race is on "Admiral" Jim Fisk of the ERIE vs. Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt New York Central Lines.Andrew Carnegie=steelScottish ImmigrantPhilanthropistEfficient ways to produce high quality steel-controlled every aspect of steel production: owned the iron mines, the steel mills, the railroads and the shipping linesIn the 1870s, he founded the Carnegie Steel Company, a step which cemented his name as one of the Captains of Industry.

Stronger steel = taller buildingsBESSEMER PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING STEELCarnegie the philanthropist. He believed the rich had a duty improve society.John D. Rockefeller=oilHe came from humble beginnings (poor)Standard Oil Company was the company he founded which became the Standard Oil Trust and ended competition in the oil industry. He controlled 95% of oil industryBecame a philanthropist and gave about $550 million to charities.

John D. Rockefeller had to perform a delicate balancing act to maintain his reputation as a philanthropist while living the live of a wealthy businessman. Before his death in 1937, Rockefeller gave away nearly half of his fortune. Churches, medical foundations, universities, and centers for the arts received hefty sums of oil money.http://www.ushistory.org/us/36b.asp

J.P. Morgan=steelPowerful NY bankerMorgan dominated two industries in particularhe helped consolidate the railroad industry in the East and formed the United States Steel Corporation in 1901which bought our Carnegie SteelFormed US Steel CorporationPhilanthropist

Henry Ford= automobileFounded Motor CompanyModel TIntroduced the assembly line to the automobile industryThe Ford Foundation is the charity started in his name and provides funding for a variety of causes.

Discussion Questions..Why are these men considered Captains of Industry?What makes some of them robber barons?What do you think the Gilded Age means? Why do you think these men got SO rich? What is a philanthropist?What were examples of the biggest businesses in the early 1900s?