Título: John D. Rockefeller
Seção: Business partnership and Civil War service
Background: Rockefeller was the second of six children and eldest son born in Richford, New York to con artist William Avery "Bill" Rockefeller (November 13, 1810 - May 11, 1906) and Eliza Davison (September 12, 1813 - March 28, 1889). His siblings were Lucy (1838-1878), William Jr. (1841-1922), Mary (1843-1925) and twins Franklin (Frank) (1845-1917) and Frances (1845-1847). His father was of English and German descent while his mother was of Scots-Irish descent. Bill was first a lumberman and then a traveling salesman who identified himself as a "botanic physician" and sold elixirs.

Conteúdo: In 1859, Rockefeller went into the produce commission business with a partner, Maurice B. Clark, and they raised $4,000 ($108,948 in 2017 dollars) in capital. Rockefeller went steadily ahead in business from there, making money each year of his career. While his brother Frank fought in the Civil War, Rockefeller tended his business and hired substitute soldiers. He gave money to the Union cause, as did many rich Northerners who avoided combat. Rockefeller was an abolitionist who voted for President Abraham Lincoln and supported the then-new Republican Party. As he said, "God gave me money", and he did not apologize for it. He felt at ease and righteous following Methodist preacher John Wesley's dictum, "gain all you can, save all you can, and give all you can."  At that time, the Federal government was subsidizing oil prices, driving the price up from $.35 a barrel in 1862 to as high as $13.75. This created an oil-drilling glut, with thousands of speculators attempting to make their fortunes. Most failed, but those who struck oil did not even need to be efficient. They would blow holes in the ground and gather up the oil as they could, often leading to creeks and rivers flowing with wasted oil in the place of water.  In this environment of wasteful boom, the partners switched from foodstuffs to oil, building an oil refinery in 1863 in "The Flats", then Cleveland's burgeoning industrial area. The refinery was directly owned by Andrews, Clark & Company, which was composed of Cl

user: who was the partnership between?

assistant: In 1859, Rockefeller went into the produce commission business with a partner, Maurice B. Clark, and they raised $4,000 ($108,948 in 2017 dollars) in capital.

user: what kind of busiiness were they into?

assistant: In this environment of wasteful boom, the partners switched from foodstuffs to oil, building an oil refinery in 1863 in "The Flats",

user: what other partnership did he have?

assistant: The commercial oil business was then in its infancy. Whale oil had become too expensive for the masses, and a cheaper, general-purpose lighting fuel was needed.

user: what else can you tell me that is interesting?

assistant: Rockefeller bought out the Clark brothers for $72,500 (equivalent to $1 million in 2017 dollars) at auction and established the firm of Rockefeller & Andrews.

user: what did the firm do?

assistant: He was well positioned to take advantage of postwar prosperity and the great expansion westward fostered by the growth of railroads and an oil-fueled economy.

user: when did they buy out the clark brothers?

assistant: In February 1865,

user: what else did they do about oil?

assistant: He borrowed heavily, reinvested profits, adapted rapidly to changing markets, and fielded observers to track the quickly expanding industry.

user: what did they use when whale oil got too expensive?

assistant: In this environment of wasteful boom, the partners switched from foodstuffs to oil, building an oil refinery in 1863 in "The Flats