NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
In New Millionaires New Millionaires In 1865, America was a young country trying to repair damages from a war it had fought with itself. Badly damaged and unaware of what to do, the promise of our once thriving country was not looking good. The economy was bad as states struggled to replace crops they had destroyed and find jobs for the men who had fought in the war. Many were hurt and unable to work, and others were mentally scarred from fighting their own countrymen, sometimes their own family members. Things were not bad for everyone, though.
There were those who knew things could only get better, those who had ideas of prosperity even in these hard times. Some of these men were even able to earn millions of dollars during a time of hardship and pain. Yes, even when the country s fate was undecided, we had new millionaires. John D. Rockefeller John D.
Rockefeller was born on July 8, 1839. His father, William Avery Rockefeller was a con man who would often travel to upstate New York and pretend to be a doctor, offering a cure for any kind of cancer for only $ 25. His father soon became a bigamist and began a new life as Doctor Levingston. Although John was brought up in an odd environment he was a very responsible child. As a child, he kept what is now known as Ledger A, an account of all the money he had as a child. He would often make money by buying all the penny candies the wholesaler had, and then selling them to the other children for two cents.
Though he was basically growing up without any direction from a father, it was obvious he was going to be an intelligent man. He began his professional life as an accountant. Though he was successful, he felt that he was missing something in his life. He decided to follow his instinct and become an oil refiner. He felt that refining oil was much smarter than drilling for it, because although oil wells would dry up, all drillers would always need a refiner. In 1870, he formed Standard Oil.
By the early 1880 s Standard Oil controlled 95 % of the refining business. He moved his headquarters to New York City to be at the center of what was becoming a global enterprise. Rockefeller s nearly total control of the oil industry made him the perfect embodiment of capitalism gone mad. Teddy Roosevelt began an effort to bring Rockefeller down.
Standard Oil was declared a trust and Rockefeller was forced to break standard oil in to 34 different companies. At this time, Rockefeller was known as the world s first billionaire. Unfortunately, the words that came to many people s mind when they heard the name Rockefeller was ruthlessness and oil, at that time a terrible combination. Rockefeller was in need of a new image, and nobody knew that better than his publicist, Ivy Lee. In search of a way to improve the Rockefeller name, Lee cast Rockefeller as the man who gave out dimes. Each time Rockefeller was out in New York, walking or riding in his carriage, he would hand dimes out to all the children he seen.
The new philanthropist side of Rockefeller struck everyone as amazing. His name soon began to mean the richest and the best, and his reputation was threatened only once when his father died. Rockefeller had worked hard to hide his father s past, his father had a new name and a new family and John wanted to keep it that way. But his father s death brought about some speculation and his new wife wanted help to bury him.
Rockefeller agreed to help as long as the man was buried under the name Doctor Levingston, which he had been going by for many years anyway. Rockefeller turned control of his business over to his son and devoted his final years to his golf game. Rockefeller died on May 23, 1937 in Orlando Beach, Florida, but his family continues to tie the Rockefeller name to good work. William H. Gaston William Henry Gaston was born on October 25, 1840 in Prairie Bluff, Alabama.
When he was a very small child his family moved to Mississippi and then in 1849 to Plenitude, Texas. While living there his father was a prominent farmer who served two terms on the state legislature. In 1861, Gaston joined a volunteer company being recruited by the Confederate Army. By October 1861 he had been elected Captain.
He commanded his company through terrible battles in Virginia in 1862, but came down with typhoid fever. After recovering from it, he was sent to Texas on recruiting duty. While in Texas, Gaston ran into a former schoolmate of his, Laura Follow. They married quickly and moved to Mississippi, where he had been reassigned as a Confederate Purchasing Agent. He spent the remainder of the war in this post. He was discharged in 1865, and he moved to Albertson County, Texas, to become a farmer.
Things were looking up for Gaston, but in 1867 tragedy struck him. His wife of just 4 years died. He was shocked by the death and few thought he would recover. For help, he turned to her sister, Ione, whom he married in 1868.
The two continued to farm cotton in Albertson County, until they had a crop worth $ 20, 000. 00. They took their gold and moved to Dallas. The actual source of the money is often disputed, however, because many believe he may have taken the money when he was a Purchasing Agent. Once he had established a residence in Dallas, Gaston entered a partnership with Aaron C.
Camp and the two opened the Gaston and Camp Bank of Dallas. Gaston soon expanded into real estate, merchandising, and stock exchange. When the Dallas Herald was established in 1837 they claimed Gaston was most responsible for Dallas s transformation into a city. They also reported him to be the city s first millionaire. In 1886 he donated 80 acres of land for the State Fair of Texas grounds.
Gaston died January 24, 1927 and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Dallas. John F. Miller John Franklin Miller was born on November 21, 1831, the eldest of William and Mary Miller s 5 children. He had an uneventful, extremely typical, Indiana childhood and received his law degree in 1852 from the State and National Law School at Ballston Spa, New York.
In 1857, after many years practicing law in his hometown, Miller met and married Miss Mary Chess. They had a daughter, Eudora, in 1859, and some years later a son, John Jr. John evidently died as a young child, because records of him stop after 1876. In 1861 John Miller entered the Indiana State Senate as a republican. He then joined the union, and spent four years in the war before retiring in 1865. After retiring from the military, John moved to San Francisco.
There, by appointment of President Johnson, he served as collector of the port for four years. While there he became interested in Alaska seal hunting. In 1869 he became president of the Alaska Seal Co. , which was very lucrative for everyone involved since it held the U. S.
monopoly for that type of enterprise. He held the post as president of the company for 12 years. In 1872 and 1876, John Miller was the republican candidate for Presidential elector and a delegate to the Second State Constitutional Convention of 1878 - 79. On March 4, 1881, he became a U. S. Senator from California and served until his death on March 8, 1886.
As one of the wealthiest members of that body, he belonged to its millionaires club. As we all know, the United States was able to rebuild itself after the Civil War. Our economy was fixed and our country has become the most powerful in the world. Perhaps none of that would have happened if it hadn t been for these men and men like them that had faith in our country. They were able to show people that even in times of poverty you could rise up and make something from nothing, and that is part of the reason our country is so powerful now.
Free research essays on topics related to: standard oil, john miller, john d rockefeller, four years, rockefeller
Research essay sample on John D Rockefeller Standard Oil
