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Vanderbilt, also known as the commodore, started his own ferry business at the age of 16. He was known to be very cut-throat and ruthless in his business, and after the war, Vanderbilt sold all of his ships and moved into the railroad industry. His net worth was that of $200 billion in today's money.
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In 1848, gold was found in California. The next year, "Forty-Niners" (the nickname came from the year) came and swarmed the region in hopes of riches. This continued for decades and more metals were found. This started the rise of boom towns (rapidly growing towns caused by prosperity) that later became ghost towns, which were deserted boom towns with little to no people. The people who deserted said towns then convinced the government to build the Transcontinental Railroad.
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This was when Congress passed the Homestead Act, allowing anyone to buy up to 160 acres for $10. Although the homes in this area attracted bugs and snakes and had little light or air, former slaves began to move west for this opportunity (now known as Exodusters) because they wanted to escape Jim Crow Laws and racial violence. More than 20,000 claimed the land around Kansas and such, allowing development for more all-black communities.
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In the 1860s, the Native Americans had a conflict with settlers that intensified when settlers established the Bozeman Trail on traditional Sioux grounds. Chief Red Cloud and his men fought for two years and this ended with the signing of the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868. The settlers went back on this treaty though when gold was discovered on the new Sioux grounds 6 years later. This started a new conflict.
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This was when people began working on the Transcontinental Railroad. It began in Nebraska and the workers were mostly war vets, former slaves, and Irish immigrants building the Union Pacific. In another area of our country, California, there were thousands of low-paid Chinese workers building the Central Pacific side. This expanded settlements in the West. Both points met at Promontory Pt., UT in 1869
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Rockefeller grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1870, he founded Standard Oil and was able to ship enough products to demand a rebate from railroads. He soon controlled 90% of the nation's oil, creating a harmful monopoly. This was harmful because if he controlled practically all the oil, it would be difficult to fight his prices as another oil business. He had a net worth of about $350 billion in today's money.
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Around this time, Joseph Glidden invented barbed wire to stop the violent Range Wars. These were prompted by the conflict between cowboys and cattle farmers as each group fought for their livelihood. Cowboys were required to be in the saddle from dusk until dawn to help the demand for beef with cattle drives which took about 3 months. They faced adversities such as flooding, lightning, stampedes.
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After years of suffering, some Sioux turned to religion for hope by 1890 in a ritual called The Ghost Dance to restore their way of life. It caught on quickly among Sioux and Indian agents were nervous and began arresting Sioux leaders. Leader Sitting Bull was shot and killed. His followers fled but were forced to surrender at Wounded Knee Creek. When soldiers tried to disarm the Sioux, a gun went off and soldiers opened fire, killing innocent men, women, and children. No Sioux survived.
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He founded Carnegie Steel using horizontal and vertical integration, which is to buy both all of the products and all of the supplies used for products. Carnegie saw himself as good despite his role in the Homestead Act in 1892. He also wrote A Gospel of Wealth and had a net worth of $300 billion.
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J.P. Morgan, unlike the other fathers he was born wealthy. He also built one of the most powerful banking houses and actually loaned money to the U.S. Treasury in 1893. Morgan was accused of manipulating the financial system for his own gain, although he helped end the Panic of 1907.