Further Economic Growth - Robber Barrons

Question 1

How did Cornelius Vanderbilt originally make his fortune?

Answer 1

• Cornelius Vanderbilt and his son William = railroad tycoons
• Originally made fortune through steamboat operations (worth $11 million by 1862)

Question 2

What did Vanderbilt do with the money he made innitially?

Answer 2

• Used profit to buy out and consolidate rail companies in the East
• Established a standard track gauge and one of the first to replace iron rails with steel
• the vanderbilt fortune swelled to more than $100 million during these boom years

Question 3

When did Vanderbilt die? What was significant about him?

Answer 3

Cornelius Vanderbilt died in 1877, the richest man in America

Question 4

Who was Vanderbilts fortune passed to?

What did he do with it?

Answer 4

• Fortune passed to his son William who expertly manipulated capital and handled strikes brutally
• William Vanderbilt died in 1885, the richest man in the world

Question 5

Andrew Carnegie began as?

Answer 5

• Arrived in America as a poor Scottish immigrant

Question 6

How did Andrew Carnegie make his fortune?

Answer 6

• Started work in a railroad company where he sold iron during the Civil War and invested the profits in iron works
• He used Bessemer Converters to make better and cheaper steel from iron

Question 7

What was the company Andrew Carnegie made + describe it?

Answer 7

• Made Homestead Steelworks in Pennsylvania which brought all processes of steel manufacturing together
• Initially manufactured rails but moved into bridges, machinery, wire, pipes and armour plating for the Us Navy

Question 8

What did Andrew Carnegie do with his company eventually?

Answer 8

• In 1900, sold it all to banker J.P Morgan for $480 million

Question 9

What were Andrew Carnegie’s practices?

Answer 9

• Rarely bought out competitors
• Sold steel at competitive prices
• Monopolised through vertical integration

Question 10

How was Andrew Carnegie a philanthropist?

Answer 10

• Self-made millionaire
• Donated to unis, hospitals, free libraries, parks, swimming baths and churches
• Set up Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Question 11

Why did Andrew Carnegie attract criticism?

Answer 11

• For being a socialist and philanthropist

- Exploiting workers (low pay & long hours) and being too ruthless to rivals

Question 12

How did J.P Morgan originally make his fortune and how did he expand this?

Answer 12

• Inherited $12 million but increased his fortune through skills as a financier

Question 13

What did J.P Morgan create?

Answer 13

• Major force behind creation of large companies (e.g US steel corporation)
• 1871, began his own private banking company (J.P Morgan & Co.)

Question 14

What was J.P Morgan criticised for?

Answer 14

• Criticised for creating monopolies and flaunting wealth

Question 15

How did John D Rockefeller begin with oil?

Answer 15

• First visited Venango oil fields in 1860, acting as a business agent for Cleveland investors
• Decided to refine and distribute (rather than produce) oil

Question 16

How was John D Rockefeller successful with oil?

Answer 16

• Bought his first oil refinery in 1862 and 8 years later set up Standard Oil Company in Ohio
• 1880’s = owned 85% of all American oil production
• 1899 = fortune of $200 million
• World’s first billionaire

Question 17

How was John D Rockefeller a philanthropist?

Answer 17

• Gave away $550 million to medicine, African-American educational institutions and the Baptist Church

Question 18

Why was John D Rockefeller criticised?

What do his defenders say?

Answer 18

• Critics say his secret arrangements prevented free and fair competition and destroyed other businesses
• Hated for his secrecy and ruthlessness
• Defenders say he saved the oil industry