Quotes from Ron Chernow

Rockefeller desperately needed intelligent assistance in donating his money at a time when he could not draw on a profession of philanthropic experts.

If Madison in the 1780s was a philosopher king, Madison in the 1790s was a formidable practicing politician, and so skillful at cutting deals that he was dubbed the big knife.

Never sure of himself, Junior plodded ahead, always wondering where he was heading.

By November, Rockefeller had capitulated and accepted his resignation.

The changes in the human condition are uncertain and frequent. Many, on whom fortune has bestowed her favours, may trace their family to a more unprosperous station; and many who are now in obscurity, may look back upon the affluence and exalted rank of their ancestors.

their naturally discreet style made them ideal channels for diplomacy.

spending months apart from his wife each year.

Give all power to the many, they will oppress the few. Give all power to the few, they will oppress the many.

The Lord will provide." Rockefeller tended to see a heavenly design in all things and was convinced that the Almighty had buried the oil in the earth for a purpose.

That he would give $100,000 one minute to charity and turn around and haggle over the price of a ton of coal.

Junior was awed by his father, whom he regarded as a marble figure on a pedestal.

Thomas Jefferson's resignation as secretary of state on December 31, 1793. The Virginian had failed to eject Hamilton from the cabinet and had lost the contest for Washington's favor.

Hamilton now believed that his great opportunities lay behind him. On December 1, 1794, the day he returned to Philadelphia, he told Washington that he would surrender his Treasury post in late January.

With Peabody gone, he urgently needed to replenish his capital base

I never felt the need of scientific knowledge, have never felt it.

The most damning and hypocritical critiques of his allegedly aristocratic economic system emanated from the most aristocratic southern slaveholders, who deflected attention from their own nefarious deeds by posing as populist champions and assailing the northern financial and mercantile interests aligned with Hamilton.

He and William agreed to cancel their mortgage on Frank's Kansas ranch.

It was his own Walden, a place where "fine views invest the soul and where we can live simply and quietly.

From the start, sensing that Tarbell was full of malice toward Standard Oil, Archbold had refused to cooperate.

As always, Hamilton cited constitutional grounds for his program, invoking the clause that gave Congress authority to "provide for the common defence and general welfare."59 Owing in part to Hamilton's generous construction of this clause, it was to acquire enormous significance, allowing the government to enact programs to advance social welfare.

Reporters struggled to convey the magnitude of this fine.

Yet he was extremely selective about the business he did and had learned the need for caution.

I considered this a great injustice to me as I was an equal partner and Gardner brought in only his share of the capital, but I thought it best to submit.

One other factor tempted the railroads to come to terms with Rockefeller: In a farsighted tactical maneuver, he had begun to accumulate hundreds of tank cars, which would be in perpetually short supply.