Cornelius Vanderbilt

Cornelius Vanderbilt was born on May 27^th, 1794 in Staten Island, New York. When he was a boy, he ferried freight meaning that he transported goods. When he was 11 he quit school so he could work in the boating business with his dad. When he was 16, his mother gave him one hundred dollars so he could start his own ship business where he would ferry items for people.

By the time he was 18 and he had repaid his mother ten-fold. After his ferry business had become successful, he went to work for Thomas Gibbons where he controlled the ferry between New York City, New Brunswick and New Jersey. After he was tired of working for Thomas Gibbons, he went back to working by himself. By the time he was 40 years old, he had more than five hundred thousand dollars, and nearing his death, he possessed ninety five million dollars.

Cornelius Vanderbilt was a hero for three main reasons; first helped the USA win the war of 1812 by donating boats for it. The second reason is he modernized the way we transport things today. And third, he donated $1 million dollars to a university called Central University, which later became Vanderbilt University. This behavior reflects a hero because until he came around, transport wasn't as good. But after he was alive, the way transportation of goods changed for the better. That is important because the United States needs fast transportation for its many goods produced. The qualities he possesses as a hero are ambitious, hardworking, determined, and intelligent.

In this paper, I explained about Cornelius Vanderbilt's early life and how he started his business, and then I explained why I think he was a hero. Thank you for reading my paper.

Citations

Cornelius Vanderbilt. Columbia University Press, 2007. Web. .

Vanderbilt, Cornelius (1794-1887). Web. .