Vanderbilt
Waterman. Steamboat man. Railroad man. Vanderbilt dominated all. A review of the things he was involved in that changed the way America worked (Stiles, 563):
- By his participation in Gibbons v. Ogden, he helped to break down restrictions on interstate trade.
- Migrating from colonial America to business America, he, while maintaining his individualism in the vein of Jackson (and maybe even Jefferson), he "shattered" the "culture of defference" and made every man capable of success on his own terms, not his class.
- Moving from boats to ships to trains, he shaped the transportation future of America.
- His effort to dominate trade from New York to San Francisco via Nicaraugua and Panama transformed communication over long distance, especially during the Civil War years.
- He epitomized the growing mind of the businessman, from gold coin to intangibles like bank notes and bank accounts, from physical objects to stocks to securities of all sorts, pioneering the giant corporation along the way.
- Jacksonian freedom of competition for every man matured during his tenure. People who wanted to get rich quickly on the coat-tails of Vanderbilt ended up not liking him at all, as following along really didn't work. His family argued over the estate, and, maybe, felt relief at his passing, as his domineering personality wasn't easly to tolerate.
In all, Vanderbilt helped Americans look at themselves differently, showing us a way to grow a strong America without the imperial dynasties of the past. Amazing life.
Stiles, T. J. The First Tycoon. The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt. Alfred A. Knopf. 2009.