Everything Wrong with Capitalism: A History

During the latter part of the 19th Century, industrial growth was allowed to proceed at an almost unregulated pace. With recent advancements in technology to spur industrial growth, the government had no rulings on how far in big business is too far. The four main business leaders of the time: Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan, and Andrew Carnegie. These men were at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution in America and the ways that they reached their levels of wealth were sometimes questionable and other times outright unethical. In the early days of business in America, there was only one industry talking about, and that was railroads. Cornelius Vanderbilt spearheaded the expansion of railroads into the West, but his methods weren’t completely reasonable. While expanding his empire, he encountered that his competitors wouldn’t uphold their side of a contract. Instead of bringing the issue to court, he decided to settle it personally. He shut down the Albany Bridge, the only rail into New York City and which he controlled, forcing them to comply or go out of business. He was willing to cut the largest American city’s supply of almost everything to settle a feud with another company. There are also examples of him selling ships to the U.S. navy that were unseaworthy. Some sank before they even reached the sea. The lengths he was capable of going to for money were great but he was willing to hurt the economy and even swindle the government for money. Vanderbilt was without a doubt known as a major Robber Baron of his time. The next emerging industry in the country was oil, petroleum, black gold; call it what you want. A young, innovative business man from Ohio was looking for an opportunity. His name was John D. Rockefeller. He was given a deal with Vanderbilt to increase the size of his company. He used this power to drive his competitors out of business and then buying them, growing his company in the process. He once closed a plant