Captain Of Industry Essay

The Captains of Industry, to some, are considered amongst the first men to “build” the America we live in today. In my opinion, that is exactly what they are. Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Carnegie, and J.P. Morgan were innovators, but above all they were businessmen. Although most people see them as “robber barons”, the things they did was to some point for their personal wealth as well as for the good of this country. What most people don’t see is that what they did played an enormous role in developing America.
Andrew Carnegie is the perfect example of a “rags to riches” type of person. He was born on 1835 in Scotland. Due to financial problems and instability, he and his family moved to the United States in hope of a better future. One of his many jobs was as a messenger boy for the Ohio Telegraph Company. With time and hard work, Carnegie was later employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company as a secretary/ telegraph operator. In absence of his boss, Carnegie took over as Superintendent of the Military Railways …show more content…
Rockefeller is considered to be one of the wealthiest American men ever. After many small business encounters throughout his early years, Rockefeller and associates founded Standard Oil Company. He dominated the oil industry for about 27 years. At one point of his career, Rockefeller controlled about 90% of all oil in the United States. Standard Oil Company had become the first great business trust in the US. After being forced to dismantle his company, Rockefeller focused on Philanthropy. He founded the University of Chicago and Rockefeller University, as well as funding the Central Philippine University. He contributed to the financial growth of many institutions such as Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Brown, etc. Rockefeller was very well known in the field of medical science due to his unconditional support. There are many institutions that benefited from the great wealth of Rockefeller and are what they are thanks to that in this present