Vanderbilt's Power

According to Google Dictionary, democracy can be defined as control of an organization or group by the majority of its members. This means power should be divided among the population and not centralized in one location or placed in the hands of one man. If going by this definition, Cornelius Vanderbilt posed a major challenge to democracy in the United States by monopolizing the railroad industry, manipulating the legislature and his competitors into doing exactly what he wanted them to do, and by passing down the majority of his fortune in an attempt to build a Vanderbilt dynasty. The majority of Vanderbilt’s power came from his many successful corporations. Notably, Vanderbilt’s control over the New York Central Railroad, the Hudson River Railroad, and the New York and Harlem Railroad gave him almost complete control over the railroad industry in New York. He had very little competition. When one person has complete control of a service this is called a monopoly. The threat of a monopoly frightened many Americans; they believed the Commodore

Another way he challenged democracy was by buying off legislature and controlling how they voted. Vanderbilt’s enormous fortune gave him great power; however, one of the Commodore’s greatest attributes was his ability to manipulate others into doing what he wanted them to do to further his own agenda. An example of Vanderbilt’s wit is his ability to plan schemes out years in advance. He would set traps and patiently wait for others to fall into them then he would swoop in and takeover. Charles Francis Adams, Jr. described Vanderbilt by saying he “has sought to make himself a dictator in modern civilization… As trade now dominates the world, and the railways dominate trade, his object has been to make himself the virtual master of all by making himself absolute lord of the railways.” No amount of power was ever enough for