https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu en-us 2017-01-05 02:13:07 UTC 2017-01-06 00:05:26 UTC hello@padlet.com brennaflanagan73 https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145405490 Cornelius was born on May 27th, 1794, in Staten Island, New York to parents Cornelius and Phebe Hand Vanderbilt. From his childhood, Cornelius was instilled with a candor and blunt demeanor, and was very accustomed to hard work. At eleven years old, Cornelius quit school and began working with his father in ferrying cargo and passengers between Manhattan and Staten Island. After working for the government during the War of 1812, Cornelius started his own shipping business in the 1820's, and he became one of the largest steamship operators in America. His nickname was the "Commodore" and he quickly earned a reputation for being competitive and ruthless. In the 1860's, Cornelius shifted to the railroad industry and was just as successful. On December 19, 1813, Cornelius married his first cousin, Sophia Johnson, and the couple would have thirteen children. After the death of his first wife, Cornelius would marry another cousin named Frank Armstrong Crawford. Vanderbilt died at the age of 82 in on January 4th, 1877, at his Manhattan home. He left the bulk of his fortune to his son, William Henry, and William's four sons.]]> 2017-01-05 02:16:53 UTC https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145405490 brennaflanagan73 https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145405685 Cornelius Vanderbilt donated his largest and fastest steamship named after himself to the Union cause during the Civil War. It took $1 million to build and was used to chase down Confederate ships. ]]> 2017-01-05 02:21:02 UTC https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145405685 brennaflanagan73 https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145405932 2017-01-05 02:27:30 UTC https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145405932 brennaflanagan73 https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145406871 Cornelius Vanderbilt was an extremely successful businessman, but his home life was not that great. Cornelius was very misogynistic and was thought to regularly cheat on his wife with prostitutes. He cared little about most his children, and even admitted one of his sons to an insane asylum twice, as well as his wife. ]]> 2017-01-05 02:49:59 UTC https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145406871 brennaflanagan73 https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145407575 Cornelius Vanderbilt was the grandfather of George Washington II, the homeowner of the great Biltmore house in Asheville, North Carolina.]]> 2017-01-05 03:08:56 UTC https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145407575 brennaflanagan73 https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145407646 After working with his father since age eleven, at sixteen, Cornelius transported cargo on his own with his self built periauger, earning $1,000 in his first year due to his shrewd and aggressive business negotiations. At eighteen, Cornelius signed a contract with the US government to supply neighboring outposts during the War of 1812, and at the end of the war he had gained a fleet of ships and capital of $10,000. This gave the young businessman experience in shipbuilding and navigation.]]> 2017-01-05 03:10:47 UTC https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145407646 brennaflanagan73 https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145407846 When Cornelius was coming of age, America was going through an Industrial Revolution. Land transportation of freight was becoming uncommon because it was more efficient for shippers to use steamships. These steamships would navigate through canals and waterways to deliver goods faster because they could sail against the current. In the 1840's and 1850's, many shippers began to use clipper ships because they were more maneuverable, but this was short lived due to the need for reliable and larger steamships.

In 1817, Cornelius partnered with Thomas Gibbons in a steamship business called The Union Line. From this, the upstart learned how to run a commercial business and deal with legal matters. After Robert Fulton and Robert Livingston sued over the right to ferrying customers between New Jersey and New York, the two businessmen hired Daniel Webster, who won the Supreme Court case Gibbons vs Ogden. After Gibbons' death, Vanderbilt wanted to buy the rest of the company, but could not get Gibbons' son to sell, therefore Cornelius started another steamship business called The Dispatch Line, forcing Gibbons to buy him out. In the 1830's, Vanderbilt built very successful shipping lines in New York. He was so ruthless and competitive that his rivals actually paid him to leave them alone. Vanderbilt then went head to head with the monopoly of the Hudson River, the Hudson River Association, and eventually they bought him out for a large sum as well. During the 1850's California Gold Rush, Vanderbilt offered a steamship service transporting passengers from New York to San Francisco, and his line was faster than any other competition. Through his impeccable timing and brilliant business strategy, Vanderbilt was a millionare long before he turned 60 years old. ]]> 2017-01-05 03:15:59 UTC https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145407846 brennaflanagan73 https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145460704 The first railroad was built in 1828, but rails did not become the most popular means of transportation until the 1860's. The first railroads were made of iron and they were often very unsafe. In the 1860's, railroads were improved and the government started to give companies land grants to build a transcontinental railroad, the Union Pacfic Railroad. By 1893, there were five transcontinental railroads. The building of western lines inspired many people, like Cornelius,  to make a profit in the east. The use of steel to build rails made railroads more economical and safer, as well as the Westinghouse air brake. Althouhgh the railroad improved many other indutries, there was a lot of corruption in the industry as well, like "stock watering," and Cornelius was not excluded. 

In the 1860's, Cornelius Vanderbilt retired from the shipping industry, and turned his attention to the railroad industry. At age 70, Cornelius acquired the New York & Harlem and the Hudson lines. He then gained the New York Central Railroad after refusing to accept its frieght and passengers over the frozen Erie Canal. He eventually controlled all railroad traffic from New York to Chicago. In 1871, Cornelius built the dazzling Grand Central Depot for the New York Central Railroad. During his railroad empire years, Vanderbilt standardized rail procedures and created the timetable to make the railroad industry more efficient. Cornelius owes his sucess to being a "robber baron" with his ruthless and exploitative business tactics. Along with other bigshots like himself, Vanderbilt bribed political figures and often had a say in who was elected to office. There are even instances where these tycoons would charge more for a short haul than a long one. ]]> 2017-01-05 13:18:54 UTC https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145460704 brennaflanagan73 https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145472903 Cornelius originally had no plans to pass on his great fortune to any charity. In 1873, Cornelius' wife persuaded him to help fund a Methodist Unversity in Tennessee. Vanderbilt donated $1 million to the school, which would be called Vanderbilt University.]]> 2017-01-05 14:01:55 UTC https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145472903 brennaflanagan73 https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145474563 Cornelius Vanderbilt was reported to have died of heart, stomach, and intestinal disorders that may have been linked to syphylis. After a eight month struggle, the Commodore died on January 4th, 1877. 
In his will  he left $90 million to his son in the business, William Henry. He gave $7.5 million to William's sons, one of them being George Washington Vanderbilt II. His sickly son Cornelius Jermiah recieved 200,000 in a trust fund, and his wife  and daughters recieved similar sums. Vanderbilt died with a net worth of $185 billion, the second greatest amount behind J.D Rockefeller.]]> 2017-01-05 14:06:24 UTC https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145474563 brennaflanagan73 https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145478569 Despite his immense wealth, Cornelius' only extravagant purhcases were made on racehorses and stables.]]> 2017-01-05 14:18:13 UTC https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145478569 brennaflanagan73 https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145479323 http://www.history.com/topics/cornelius-vanderbilt

http://www.biography.com/people/cornelius-vanderbilt-9515195#final-years-and-legacy]]> 2017-01-05 14:20:13 UTC https://padlet.com/brennaflanagan73/8q2ccgoeejtu/wish/145479323