Cornelius Vanderbilt's Impact On America

The Civil War is now over, country is still divided. America's democracy seen as a failed experiment by other countries, but it's the opposite, it is the start to a new era and more advancements. Cornelius Vanderbilt was one man who helped with America's advancements. He once owned a single ferry, but it soon became a fleet of ships in which they carried cargo and passengers all over the country. Over the next 40 years he built the largest shipping empire in the world and became known as the Commodore. Before the civil war even began and at the peak of his power, he sells his ships and invests everything into Railroads. By the end of the war he has a networth of $60 million, but even with all the riches he was a mourning man. He had lost his son, George, in the war and now depended on William, his less accomplished son. …show more content…
He makes it his mission to stay dominant, he owns the only rail bridge that connects other lines into New York so he shuts it down, it is the busiest port in America. Millions of cargo unable to go in and out of New York, this breaks his competitors. The Commodore will now take control of his former rivals railroad, he has now created the largest railroad company in America. The country is now tied together in ways that were unimaginable 15 years earlier, and he provided 180,000 jobs. Without him, America's transportation and industrial economy may have not been what it is today. He wanted to build a monument to cherish what he did, he developed the Grand Central Depot in the heart of New York, which is still in high usage in today's