Ellis Island

Ellis Island at the height of immigration

Faces of America was a very interesting video that opened my eyes to how diverse our nation is. It really emphasizes that the majority of people in our culture are, or have immigrant ancestors, including movie stars, Hollywood directors and even Olympic gold medalist. I find it very interesting the reason why the majority of their ancestors or parents left was to improve their living conditions and for their children to have a better life than they had.It's incredible that we have such a diverse collaboration of cultures in our nation. The immigrants who have come over here to make a better life for themselves and for their children are the ones who, in my opinion have lead the nation to the great height that it currently is. Due to their strong work efforts and willingness to persevere even through hard times, these people have created the strong, hardworking work force that we have in this nation.

Unfortunately, due to that I am adopted, I know nothing about my family history. I find it so interesting learning about where other people have come from and I feel like there is such a strong connection with knowing where you come from and your culture. I hope that one day I will have the opportunity to pursue my ancestry and find out where my ancestors are from and why they chose to move here.  

John D Rockefeller

      John D Rockefeller was a brilliant, hard working man. Born on July 8, 1839, John was the second of six children. Even as a child John was determined. He started raising and selling Turkeys,  growing potatoes to sell and selling candy to neighbors to earn a little more money than his childhood chores gave him. At a young age he was already selling stock to his neighbors. He studied hard in school and was always on his best behavior. In his childhood his dad was rarely present. His father, a traveling salesman, sold plant remedies to people all over. John, like his father, was a great businessman. His first official job was at Hewitt and Tuttle as a Bookkeeper. Even when he was just starting to work there and only making about $500/ year,  John always donated 6-10% of his salary to charity. As a child, he set his goals as, "To Make $100,000 and to make it to 100 years old.
      John accomplished his first goal, many times over. In 1859 he and a friend named Maurice B. Clark went into the produce commission business together. By 1863, John had built an oil refinery in Cleveland. Although the refinery was owned by Andrews Clark and commercial oil was new, this job greatly boosted Rockefeller's career experience and  got his name out there. In 1865, Rockefeller bought out  Clark for $72,500 and used it to establish the Rockefeller and Andrews firm. After this point Rockefeller started one by one, buying out any and all competition he had, and also he took out anyone who required him to pay for things. especially when they had a high price.

Halek Energy Partners

     Rockefeller never quite made it to 100 years old but he did however make it to 97. As the Founder of Standard Oil  company, Founder of the University of Chicago and Rockefeller University and having a net worth of $663.4 Billion dollars, making him the first American worth more than $1 billion, Rockefeller did more with his life than he could have ever imagined. Without Rockefeller the world would not industrially be where we are today. He played a big impact on the Industrial Revolution. As the owner and founder of the dominating Oil industry during the industrial revolution, Rockefeller deserves all his wealth for all of his hard work.Though many during this time period looked negatively at monopolies, because Rockefeller built his way up to where he was through hard work, he is one of the only honest monopoly owners of his time, in my opinion.


tarbell.allegheny.edu
PBS.org
USHistory.com