Rebecca Sukert
US History
Mr. Flieder Period 4
October 4, 2014
"At the end of the Civil War, America was seen as a failing experiment in democracy; a nation fraying from the inside and at war with itself. Just 50 years later, the United States was the greatest superpower the world had ever seen. This landmark transition was due in no small part to a group of business-savvy, innovative young men: John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Andrew Carnegie" (Captains of Industry). They took their skills in business and sales and used them to remake the American industrial system and some of the most important industries in the world, steel, oil, and railroads and transportation. All "Captains of Industry" brought something new to the table, whether it was transportation, efficiency, or quality.
Carnegie and his company were known for using steel to enforce and repair aged wooden railroad bridges.
Standard Oil Trust Certificate 1896
English: "Cornelius Vanderbilt, head-and-shoulders...
Cornelius VanderbiltHe was a qualified businessman as a result of his attention to detail and hard work. People knew he had high quality steel, so they paid the extra money for good quality materials as opposed to paying less for low quality materials that may have to be replaced more often, causing him to become one of the wealthiest people in American history. Andrew Carnegie also was the first to use vertical integration as a way to produce his goods and run his business. Vertical integration let him control and observe every step of the steel making process, "For every step of the process, he owned exactly what he needed: the raw materials, ships and railroads for transporting the goods, and even coal fields to fuel the steel furnaces" (Andrew Carnegie- Biography). By using vertical integration, Carnegie enabled himself to make executive decisions like the prices of steel and how good...