Me Who Built America Here is a list of the 5 men who had the largest impact on American economy through the establishment of major corporations in our Industrial Revolution. I made this country the economic power it is.

Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877)

Cornelius Vanderbilt became wealth as an entrepreneur in the steamboat industry but his beyond belief wealth came when he became the head of the Railroad industry. Vanderbilt totally controlled the exchange of goods within this country, through his company “The New York Central”which included oil and steel. His argument with Jim Fisk and Jay Gould who wanted a part of the Railroad industry weakened Vanderbilt power which opened the gates for our the next powerful businessman.

John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937)

John Rockefeller establish the most power oil company in Standard Oil John Rockefeller establish the most power oil company in Standard Oil. His oil was fueling the country with a more powerful and cleaner fuel than coal. His business was growing but distribution was limited since Vanderbilt controlled the means for his oil transportation (RR). When Vanderbilt’s grip weakened Rockefeller struck and decided to bypass Vanderbilt railroad and built a huge pipeline to move his oil. The rest is history. His pipeline enable Rockefeller to Horizontally and vertically integrate establish one of the largest monopolies in US history. His pipeline opened the doors for our next man who built America.

Andrew Carnegie 1835-1919)

As a result of the Bessemer process Carnegie took advantage of a quicker way to make steel and say a huge opportunity to sell a lot of steel by making Vanderbilt railway and Rockefeller’s pipeline more reliable with the use of steel instead of iron. This was the creation of US Steel. His steel eventually provided the world with a durable material. Carnegie ruthless business tactics find himself trying to save his reputation. He eventually sells his business one of our Men who built America but not after another uses his steel to start a major oppuntunity.

Henry Ford (1863-1947)

Ford saw Carnegies steel as the one element that would make his model T more reliable but needed to create a simpler and smoother system for making his car. His assembly line and idea of marketing know as “Fordism” made it possible. Soon nearly every American owned a car. His methods of business became the standard but factories need a more reliable form of power.

JP Morgan (1837-1913)

Morgan gains his wealth as a banker providing loans to the people investing into the new industries. Morgan also invest into Edison’s light bulb to safely light these new industries and merges with Westinghouse who invented alternating current (ac) which provided a smooth reliable current for these business. He eventually bought out Carnegie US Steel when Carnegie felt he had had enough making Carnegie the richest man in the world.

Rockefeller, Carnegie and Morgan team up to help elect William McKinley to the U.S. presidency by paying for his 1896 campaign, to avoid a possible attack on monopolies. However, fate intervenes when McKinley is suddenly assassinated, and vice president Theodore Roosevelt assumes the presidency and promptly begins dissolving monopolies and trusts in America.