American Titans | The Tycoons That Built America

By Michael Gray

Discover the incredible true story of the legends that built an American empire

The will to succeed defines the greatness of men.

Great men are forged through a combination of social, economic, and political conditions favoring both the individual and the greater good. When the conditions are just right, everybody wins. Yet when one interest trumps another, somebody must lose. It is this juxtaposition that defines history; either man can better his own situation at the expense of others or improve everybody's situation at his own expense. 

Character is often built from the latter and can carry men through the toughest of times. In fact, history shows us that a little bit of grit and determination can go a long way towards building something greater than oneself. This is what makes men titans. In addition, men must often think outside the box to accomplish this greatness. In other words, greatness is achieved by taking risks and by doing something different than the everyday. It is this boldness that makes history.

Take a journey into the minds of men that created an American empire.

Would you risk it all to achieve greatness?

• Learn how Cornelius Vanderbilt grows from a steamboat entrepreneur to the head of a railroad empire.
• Discover the fascinating story of how John D. Rockefeller built an oil monopoly.
• Glimpse into the past where Andrew Carnegie built an unstoppable steel industry.
• Observe how the biggest titan in banking, JP Morgan, came to be a tycoon of finance.
• Read how Nikola Tesla and Thomas Jefferson powered our nation
• Each chapter keeps you yearning for more!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Baer Publishing
• Release date: Sep 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393852308

Book preview

Chapter One:  Cornelius Vanderbilt

Great men like Cornelius Vanderbilt are forged through experience and hard work, which can both teach more than formal education ever could. The experiences of working long hours on the dock or alongside his father on the family farm taught Vanderbilt about hustling and industrialization. In fact, Cornelius II learned from his father Cornelius vanderbilt’s example of running the family farm and his ferrying business. He found that it is possible to manage a successful business while living a satisfying life at the same time. Young Vanderbilt, nicknamed The Commodore for his enthusiasm and spirit on the waterfront, reaped the rewards of hard work and persistence because of the schooling he received from his diligent parents. Vanderbilt was an earnest pupil, and his parents eventually loaned him $100 to buy a small Dutch boat and start his own ferrying business at age sixteen. Despite Vanderbilt starting out as rather meager with very little money to spare, his hard work still influenced his parents to trust him with their hard-earned money.

Cornelius Vanderbilt was born in Staten Island, New York, on May 27, 1794, to Cornelius vanderbilt and Phebe Hand. His parents were hard-working people who saved every penny they earned to take care of their four children: Charlotte, Cornelius, Eleanor, and Jacob. The Vanderbilts made their living by farming and ferrying goods and raw materials. Cornelius Sr. instilled honesty and frankness in his sons, while his mother Phebe taught them how to economize the little their family had. Phebe was an amazing woman and even lent her silver for the family’s survival, using the profits to endure financial hardship. She should receive credit for her son’s success, as she had a strong character that influenced the young railroad tycoon. These lessons taught the young Vanderbilt much about business, as they paved the way for his future success and prosperity in the steamship and railroad business.

Vanderbilt could not, unfortunately, find success in formal schooling, as he dropped out at age eleven after just five years. He found more success in helping his father and mother out on the family farm. The impression his parents left on him would embody and exemplify the values Vanderbilt lived by for the rest of his life. Vanderbilt learned more from his parents and the farming and ferrying business than any formal teacher could have taught him through books; however, the lack of formal education would hamper Vanderbilt’s life while he rose to the top of the steamboat and railroad business. He swore a lot and had poor grammar because of poor language skills, and he was not the most benevolent person. His inability to read or write well made it difficult for him to communicate well with the high society with whom he had to associate in the business. He mostly did his own thing, avoiding communication with high society people and mimicry of their philanthropic pursuits.

Business was good for Vanderbilt after he bought his first boat—a periauger with a shallow draft, flat bottom, two masts, and oars—to ferry goods and people to where they needed to go. The periauger he commandeered could travel back and forth between Staten Island and New York City with ease. In fact, Vanderbilt was so good at ferrying people and goods that he earned $1,000 by the time he was seventeen years old, which would be worth $20,000 today. He became both a businessman and a boat captain because of his experiences, leading to expertise in both areas. Even the military heard of his growing capabilities as a boatman at age eighteen, because they contracted him during the War of 1812 to move much-needed food, ammunition, and other goods from one outpost to another. Business was booming for the young gentleman, as he learned to pay close attention to his customers and finances. Vanderbilt was natural at the ferrying business, given the influence of his parents as they primed him for business through their example.

However, perhaps not the best example of Cornelius’s behavior outside of business is his marrying his first cousin Sophia Johnson in 1813. They had thirteen children: Phebe Jane, Ethelinda, Eliza, William Henry Billy, Emily Almira, Sophia Johnson, Maria Louisa, Frances Lavinia, Cornelius Jeremiah, George Washington, Mary Alicia, Catherine Juliette, and George Washington II. Cornelius and Sophia had more daughters than sons, which was disappointing for the business tycoon because he was a lifelong misogynist with contempt for the female gender. His disdain became clearer when he cheated on his wife many times with a young governess and various prostitutes. Despite his adultery, he still provided for his family’s needs somewhat, even if he paid little attention to his many daughters. Vanderbilt’s personal and home life may have been at odds with his professional life, as his business ethics were mixed and he lacked a moral compass.

Nevertheless, Vanderbilt’s professional life improved because of his impressive business acumen, which earned him more financial security as he learned to undercut his competitors by offering lower prices. His competitors would compete by lowering their prices even more. Eventually, Vanderbilt’s competitors’ stock value would be so low that he would buy them out and force them out of business. This tactic often worked for him, as he gained more capital to not only run his own ferry business successfully but also to help others such as Thomas Gibbons, a fellow ferryman. Thomas Gibbons was a wealthy steamboat owner, lawyer, politician, and planter. Gibbons could multitask and run multiple businesses at a time, which may have influenced young Vanderbilt while he worked for Gibbons for a time.

In 1817, the wealthy Thomas Gibbons asked Vanderbilt to commandeer one of his steamboats, the Mouse, between New York and New Jersey, all the while still running his own ferry business. This involvement helped Vanderbilt to learn how to manage the business from the inside and eventually allowed him to become Gibbon’s manager. During this period, Vanderbilt honed both his seafaring skills and his business expertise to where he bought his own steamboat in 1828, christened the Citizen. In addition, working for Gibbons allowed Vanderbilt to purchase enough capital to manage his own steamship company in 1829. Gibbons aided the steamship and railroad tycoon to increase his skills and consequently his wealth by taking Vanderbilt under his wing when the latter was more impressionable. However, the days of using wind and water to navigate were over, as steam was becoming the new source of power.

Power does not come easy to those who are not willing to fight for it. Vanderbilt represented his friend Gibbons in legal matters relating to the twenty-year steamboat monopoly of Robert Fulton and Robert Livingston because Livingston’s heirs used to hold the monopoly. In addition, Fulton, the inventor of the steamboat, together with Livingston, made a living out of monopolizing the steamboat industry and controlling the waters in New York. These men, thanks to the New York State Legislature, controlled a steamboat on New York waters via interstate commerce. Yet Vanderbilt and Gibbons saw it differently, as they believed they also had a right to navigate their steamboats and ferries in the same vicinity for similar purposes via open competition.

Livingston’s heirs had granted the former New Jersey Governor Aaron Ogden a license to manage a ferry between New Jersey and New York, thus impeding on Gibbons as the latter also wanted to run his business in the same waters. Gibbons turned against Ogden and tried to overturn his monopoly, resulting in the case being brought to the courts in Gibbons vs. Ogden, filed right before Vanderbilt was to appear and represent Gibbons. The courts ruled in Gibbons’ favor, ruling that Ogden could not interfere with navigation and competitive interstate commerce. The end to this case opened New York waters to everybody who wanted to use it and paved the way for future wealth and success within America with open competition.

Despite a momentous ruling, Gibbons sadly passed away not long after in 1826. Vanderbilt, having lost a friend and mentor, began working for Gibbons’ son William for a few years until 1829. Vanderbilt found William a feeble and weak individual, two qualities the former did not like as it contrasted with his own hardiness. This may be why Vanderbilt ended up working for himself, starting steamship lines between New York and the nearby territory. By this time, Vanderbilt had accrued a large amount of capital, as he took over many lines like the Long Island Sound and the route to Peekskill, New York on the Hudson River. As his means became greater, Vanderbilt also became a force to be reckoned with in the seafaring business. Vanderbilt was the ruler of the sea in amassing numerous steamboats and their sea lanes.

Acquiring steamboats became effortless for Vanderbilt because he was slowly getting better at practicing successful business practices. He remembered to live frugally as his mother taught him, evidenced by how he rarely spent money on matters other than what he needed for his business ventures. Case in point, he would bet on horses now and then. Vanderbilt inclined instead to save and reinvest his money to avoid going into debt. He knew how to stretch a dollar because he never had to borrow for want of anything.

Vanderbilt was very innovative and progressive, as noted in how he learned to welcome new technologies like the steamboat and the railroad. His many successful business ventures did not stagnate nor become obsolete because he continued to move forward and accept up-to-date applications rather than the status quo. It seemed Vanderbilt knew that comfort and growth could not coexist with professional development and success. On that note, Vanderbilt also knew that having large amounts of wealth did not have to equate to a complacent acceptance of it. Money was no reason to become lazy.

He was successful because he surrounded himself with like-minded individuals and business associates who also focused on similar interests, concerns, and affairs—building, managing, and mastering a successful business empire amongst these interests. For example, when the business tycoon began his steamboat career, he faced opposition from the steamboat captain Daniel Drew. Drew was a business expert himself, as he succeeded in his own steamboat and railroad development, besides being a well-known financier. Drew forced Vanderbilt to buy him out, and as an unseen consequence, Vanderbilt befriended him to the point they remained secret business partners to avoid mutual competition. Birds of a feather flock together! Obviously, Vanderbilt was very business-savvy and wise beyond his years because he knew that by associating with other like-minded business magnates, they would help him build his massive steamship and railroad empire.

Even though Vanderbilt had the reputation of a relentless go-getter, he also knew that running a successful business also required taking care of his own needs to avoid burnout. In fact, Vanderbilt took such good care of himself that he remained healthy when times were tough. He would take the time to relax and vacation to recharge his batteries and often visited Saratoga Springs to clear his mind. Vanderbilt knew he would be no good to anybody, least of all himself and his family, if he collapsed from exhaustion. His habits allowed him to thrive when others would have thrown in the towel long before.

Vanderbilt’s persistence and diligence became even more clear when he wrestled control of Hudson River traffic by taking over many of the steamboat companies already ferried there. He competed against the monopoly of the Hudson River Steamboat Association (HRSA) by nicknaming his own line "The People’s Line," the popular language of the time. This garnered Vanderbilt much support and favor for his steamboat business to where the monopoly had to pay him to stop competing against them, in part because the business magnate reduced fares while offering luxurious accommodations. It was a winning combination it seems because many people flocked to Vanderbilt’s steamship.

Afterwards, Vanderbilt in 1834 also took over The Long Island Sound, which is a tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean stretching one hundred and ten miles from Connecticut to New York. Taking this route over allowed the business tycoon to exert a commanding influence over the steamboat industry by the time he was only forty years of age. In addition, Vanderbilt took over the connecting railroads like the Stonington, which allowed him to also become the company president of it in 1847. It seemed Vanderbilt learned how to not only work smarter and not harder, he also learned to compete in the same manner.

Afterward, in 1834, Vanderbilt took over the Long Island Sound, a tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean stretching 110 miles from Connecticut to New York. Taking this route over allowed the business tycoon to exert a commanding influence over the steamboat industry by the time he was forty years old. In addition, Vanderbilt took over the connecting railroads like the Stonington, which allowed him to become its company president in 1847. Vanderbilt, by this point, had learned how to work more efficiently; he also learned to compete in the same manner.

Even after Vanderbilt dominated the steamboat industry and amassed a huge fortune from it, like many people during the 1849 California gold rush, he was still hungry for more adventure, experience, and wealth. This could explain why he then went after ocean steamships, which hauled many gold diggers to California. Vanderbilt profited from the situation, using his new steamship line to Nicaragua ferrying them there because it was closer to America than sailing around Panama. In fact, in 1850, Vanderbilt saw an opportunity to start a company with his business partners; an opportunity he took. The business tycoon started the Accessory Transit Company (ATC), which would ferry would-be prospectors from the east coast to California for a cheaper price than his competitors. It soon transported over 2000 passengers monthly at the going rate of $300, which Vanderbilt reduced to $150 to gain more business. Vanderbilt’s keen sense of timing was very important to his business.

Also important to business is loyalty because otherwise, betrayal could lead to a loss of earnings or profit, as Vanderbilt, unfortunately, found out. When he took his extended family on a vacation to Europe