People of John D. Rockefeller's time called him a tyrant, historians believe Rockefeller is credited with ushering the new age of business and economics, and many present day people believe he is one of the most charitable men in history; but if there is one thing certain, it is that Rockefeller had a huge impact on the United States and society. By buying out other competing companies, making deals, and utilizing his resources effectively, and from starting up as a book keeper working for a small commission produce shipper, Rockefeller became one of the most powerful men in the world. As Rockefeller controlled all companies that had to do with the drilling, production, storage, and transportation of oil through Standard Oil Company, he controlled almost all of America's Oil and had effectively minimized costs and expanded profit. Rockefeller is one of the most influential people in America as he is one of the first men to contribute so much to society either with his flawless, but merciless business tactics, or his generous philanthropic work.
John D. Rockefeller was born on July 8, 1839 in New York, where he was the second child of 6 children. Rockefeller's father was a traveling salesman who was, most of the time, away from the family, and so left Rockefeller's mother to end up taking care of his siblings and him for most of their childhood. Rockefeller's mother taught Rockefeller many lessons about being charitable and the importance of being a devout christian, which would later affect Rockefeller's later in life where he became a prominent philanthropist. Rockefeller would later find out about his father's true dealings as a con artist selling fake cures to cancer, and other false
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...nd made very covert, alienating deals (South Improvement Scheme), but through all his morally conflicting actions, he turned out to be one of the most powerful and richest men of the world in that time. As he was rich and powerful he was also a devout christian, and by the end of his life sought to clear his name of demeaning rumors and conspiracies, by being a generous philanthropist. Rockefeller has a made a huge impact on modern business today as most of his strategies such as vertical and horizontal integration, and the buying out and assimilation of competitors, is still in use today, albeit a bit restricted because of the laws today and the ones still standing. Nevertheless, Rockefeller didn't just usher in a new era of business and economics which has changed the way people think today, but also has contributed much by donating and bestowing much to society.
It's said that before John D. Rockefeller died, "he gave away about $550,000,000 to charity, more than any other American before him had ever possessed" (98). His money went to schools, churches and also "paid teams of scientists who found cures for yellow fever, meningitis, and hookworm"(97).
The american society will not look like this today without Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller and JP Morgan. They took astonishing risks to attain that success. They created an innovation that no one could ever imagine. Andrew Carnegie, John D, Rockefeller and JP Morgan, are the empire builders and pillars of American Society because they have changed the way we think and created a new way of living.
Many people consider Rockefeller a robber of industry because of his forcible ways of gaining his monopolies. Rockefeller was fond of buying out small and large competitors. If the competitors refused to sell they often found Rockefeller cutting the prices of his Standard Oil or in the worst cases, their factories mysteriously blowing up. Rockefeller was obsessed with controlling the oil market and used many of undesirable tactics to flush his competitors out of the market. Rockefeller was also a master of the rebate game. He was one of the most dominant controllers of the railroads. He was so good at the rebate that at some times he skillfully commanded the rail road to pay rebates to his standard oil company on the traffic of other competitors. He was able to do this because his oil traffic was so high that he could make or break a section of a railroad a railroad company by simply not running...
Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Morgan were clearly “captains of industry”. Carnegie took advantage of the modern technology available at the time to positively affect the steel industry. Rockefeller spread order throughout the oil industry and led to the development of new products as well as a decrease in the cost of oil. Morgan saved the country from financial disaster on two occasions, as well as brought stability to the nation’s economy. The job market now held various opportunities for immigrants, which constituted the majority of the work force. These great men were also philanthropists, essentially separating them from “robber barons”. All in all, they encouraged the growth of the American economy into one of the strongest in the world.
The industrial leaders, Robber Barons, of the 19th century are men who are very respected and admired. Andrew Carnegie was a boy from Scotland who came over to this country with nothing. He continued to save and work his way up in the industry until he had complete control over the steel industry. John D. Rockefeller was also one who came from an ordinary home. When he saw an opportunity, he took it, along with the risks. He came to control the oil industry. Another man that took many opportunities to expand and grow was Cornelius Vanderbilt. These men saw what they needed to do to become successful and they did it. These men's' lives reflected the Darwinian ideology of the times, "survival of the fittest".
To begin the look at Rockefeller’s life, let’s look back to his birth. John D. Rockefeller was born on July 8th, 1839 to Eliza and William Avery Rockefeller in Richmond, New York and was the eldest of his other 4 siblings; Lucy, William Jr., Mary and Franklin. John’s parents could easi...
Rockefeller was the son of a trader, and began in the oil company when he was 20. He knew this was the area to invest in, because coal was being replaced by oil in the power industries. By 1870, he had his first oil business, called the Standard Oil Company. Like Carnegie, Rockefeller used horizontal integration and within two years, he had also created a monopoly. He made more money because he paid his workers extremely low wages and treated them poorly. Unlike Carnegie who offered his workers benefits and stock options, Rockefeller gave his workers poor conditions and even abused them at times. Even though Rockefeller was a philanthropist and gave a lot of his money away, that does not make up for how he treated other people and put people out of business to become wealthy. He is best known for a robber baron because he simply used his power to destroy other businesses. He did whatever he could to control the oil industry, even if that meant stepping on others on the way to his success. He reduced the costs of his company, and he was then able to drive other companies out of business, which is how he became one of the richest men in history.
Had Rockefeller not been ruthless in building his railroad empire, our country would not have had as strong a railroad system.
Businessmen of the Gilded Age like Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan, and Vanderbilt were captains of industry. Industrialists economically improved the United States by contributing the most money, which was made from the successes of their companies. In addition, they were financially beneficial to communities and set an example of philanthropy and lifestyle for others to follow. Moreover, they resorted to unscrupulous tactics not only for their financial gain, but for America’s financial gain as well.
The United States has come to be known as a major world superpower throughout history. One of the main parts of America that has contributed to its renowned strength has been its economy. The United State’s economy has been growing ever since it began. Credit for its strength and progress in development can be attributed to the financial geniuses of their time. John D. Rockefeller became an economical giant during his time when he changed the face of business by developing ground-breaking new strategies to ensure financial success. Rockefeller dramatically changed the business field during The Gilded Age. He did so through the use of his social Darwinistic philosophy of capitalism, inclusion of vertical and horizontal integration, combination of both his business views and religious beliefs, his Standard Oil Company along with specific refinery processes. He founded the Standard Oil Company, one of the first types of businesses during its time. Although this company helped Rockefeller become known for his successful and competitive strategies, he did develop these strategies by himself with the use of his own beliefs and views.
John D. Rockefeller, born on July 8, 1839, has had a huge impact on the course of American history, his reputation spans from being a ruthless businessperson to a thoughtful philanthropist (Tarbell 41). He came from a family with not much and lived the American dream, rising to success through his own wit and cunning, riding on the backs of none. His legacy is huge, amassing the greatest private wealth of any American in history. Rockefeller’s influence on our country has been both a positive and a negative one, he donated huge sums of money to various public institutions and revolutionized the petroleum industry. Along with all the positives to the country, Rockefeller also had many negative affects as well, including, by gaining his riches by means of a monopoly, often using illegal methods, by giving others a reason to frown upon capitalism, and by hurting smaller businesses.
John D. Rockefeller was born on July 8, 1839 in Rickford, New York. He grew up in a very poor family. His father was William Avery Rockefeller. He claimed to be a doctor, who for $25 would cure various diseases. His mother was Eliza Davison Rockefeller. She was the role model who taught Rockefeller his values and morals (Poole). John Rockefeller was the second child. Altogether he had five brothers and sisters (Outman 139). As a child he was very business smart. At the young age of 12 he loaned $50 to a famer. He charged a 7% interest. When he was older he said this about the business deal, “The impression was gaining ground with me that it was a good thing to let money be my servant and not make myself a slave to money” (Poole).
A "robber baron" was someone who employed any means necessary to enrich themselves at the expense of their competitors. Did John D. Rockefeller fall into that category or was he one of the "captains of industry", whose shrewd and innovative leadership brought order out of industrial chaos and generated great fortunes that enriched the public welfare through the workings of various philanthropic agencies that these leaders established? In the early 1860s Rockefeller was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, who came to epitomize both the success and excess of corporate capitalism. His company was based in northwestern Pennsylvania.
Andrew Carnegie was once claimed the richest man in the world. He built a fortune from a meager beginning. Carnegie was a hard working man who refused to quit. He was dedicated to perform well and held respect for quality work. However, Carnegie faced a constant challenge through his success; his values often conflicted with his success. Carnegie was able to offset this conflict through his donations to the public after his retirement from the steel industry. He has been better remembered for his donations than his ethics as an employer.
True, Andrew Carnegie and John D Rockefeller may have been the most influential businessmen of the 19th century, but was the way they conducted business proper? To fully answer this question, we must look at the following: First understand how Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller changed the market of their industries. Second, look at the similarities and differences in how both men achieved domination. Third and lastly, Look at how both men treated their workers and customers in order achieve the most possible profit for their company.