men who built America| 47 questions and answers

Soon after acquiring his first ferry, what reputation did Vanderbilt earn? cut through win at any cost Vanderbilt wanted to advertise his power as a railroad magnate. What enormous NY building did he help build? Grand Central Depot Vanderbilt pioneered the technique of rapidly buying a large amount of another company's stock. This is called _______ ________. hostile takeover Rockefeller didn't want to take the risk from finding oil wells. He avoided it by taking over another step in the process. What was that step? refining oil Why did Rockefeller choose the name "Standard Oil?" it guarantees a uniform consistency, or standard, for his kerosene What did Rockefeller do with the profits from his deal with both major railroads? bought out his competitors How did Rockefeller attempt to solve the problem created by Vanderbilt? tries to find another way to transport oil (pipeline) How did Rockefeller's actions affect the railroads? they couldn't fill the trains; lost cargo and money Most Americans were really struggling, but Rockefeller was still doing quite well - even buying up struggling companies. How did Rockefeller view himself here? survival of the fittest - he was the fittest Why did Carnegie begin working with steel? it would be stronger than iron What improvement did Bessemer make to the manufacture of steel? cut time from 2 weeks per rail to 15 mins Why did the people of Johnstown ignore the warning to evacuate? they had seen the same warning many times before How was Carnegie different than Vanderbilt or Rockefeller? didn't have win-at-all-costs attitude In response to the flood, Carnegie reacted differently than the other South Fork members. How was his response different? felt responsible and donated millions to rebuild his image and Johnstown Of all the buildings Carnegie built with his money, what was the most famous? Carnegie Hall To overtake Rockefeller as the richest man, Carnegie rebuilt the Homestead steel mill. What did he do to make it more profitable? reduce wages and increase work hours When things turned personal, Frick called in the Pinkerton detectives. Who are they? essentially a private army with more weapons than US army Describe what happened to the barricade when the Pinkertons faced off against the strikers. Pinkertons said to tear down barricades. fight broke out, killed 9 people How did the public vies the events at Homestead? blamed Frick almost exclusively. They were outraged There was a new movement in America at this time. Who were they and what did they decide to do about Frick? anarchists; kill him How did J.P. Morgan make his money? buying out failing companies and returning them to profitability - eliminating competition Carnegie was afraid that J.P. Morgan would next try to take over Carnegie Steel. What action did Carnegie take? terminated Henry Frick J.P. Morgan wanted yo br a big capitalist like Rockefeller or Carnegie, but he needed to invest in a new idea? What idea did he find? electric lights The elite all wanted electrified homes - except Rockefeller. Why did Rockefeller fear electricity? he sold oil and recognized electricity could replace it causing his business to fail How did Rockefeller respond to the loss of his customers to electricity? started a propaganda campaign to convince people electricity was dangerous Nikola Tesla wanted the higher voltage alternating current (A.C.) to be the standard. Why was Edison unwilling to listen to Tesla's ideas? Edison worried AC was too dangerous - Tesla was his jr employee so Edison thought his ideas were beneath notice Who finally invested in Tesla's idea? George Westinghouse J.P. Morgan's investment was at risk. He told Edison to do anything to stop alternating current. How did Edison try to take down Tesla? tried to convince everyone AC was dangerous. Would do things like kill animals with AC in front of audiences. proved it could kill people with electric chair. Explain why Edison decided to develop an electric chair? used AC to demonstrate that it was dangerous Edison's attempt with the electric chair didn't go as he hoped. How did it backfire on Edison? basically cooked men alive. people began to equate death by electricity with Edison, not with AC Who saved Westinghouse? How? Tesla - tore up his royalties contract, giving Westinghouse control of his patents Officials in charge of the Niagara station chose ______ to power their generators. Westinghouse or AC Morgan's business was in trouble - threatened by the rising use of electricity. What did Rockefeller do to save his business? tried to find a use for an oil refining byproduct - gasoline. had his men create internal combustion engines What is "Morganization?" brining competitors together to find away to get them to compromise How did the Morganization process affect the working class? really hurt them - made there lives miserable with longer hours in terrible conditions for less pay How did the wealth of the great entrepreneurs compare with the lives of the poor? the gap between the rich and poor is as big as it's ever been. over 90% of Americans survives on less than $100 a month. Many workers made less than $1 a day in terrible conditions.