Quotes from Ron Chernow

ad John D. Rockefeller died in 1902, at the outset of the Tarbell series, he would be known today almost exclusively as a narrow man of swashbuckling brilliance in business

National City Bank had the deepest gold reserves and cash resources of any bank during the panic.

Mocking Hancock as an inexperienced political lightweight, Republicans printed up a pamphlet entitled "Hancock's Political Achievements," a work that contained nothing but blank pages.

Hamilton logo se mostrou um aluno de energia incomparável, avançando nos estudos com sua característica rapidez.

For this reason, he found religion far more of a spur than a hindrance to his ambitions.

One of Rockefeller's strengths in bargaining situations was that he figured out what he wanted and what the other party wanted and then crafted mutually advantageous terms. Instead of ruining the railroads, Rockefeller tried to help them prosper, albeit in a way that fortified his own position.

To watch the progress of such endeavours is the office of a free press. To give us early alarm and put us on our guard against the encroachments of power. This then is a right of the utmost importance, one for which, instead of yielding it up, we ought rather to spill our blood.

This pattern of the sickly wife and the autocratic, headstrong husband would be repeated in the life of their son Pierpont.

When avarice takes the lead in a state, it is commonly the forerunner of its fall.

Now he embarked on a buying spree that would eventually produce the world's largest art collection in private hands.

Rockefeller advised silence, and Flagler desisted from further comment.

Sometimes Rockefeller gave Gates glimpses into his inner sadness.

What makes him so problematic—and why he continues to inspire such ambivalent reactions—is that his good side was every bit as good as his bad side was bad.

Washington gave orders to construct six frigates—the birth of the U.S. Navy—and Hamilton negotiated contracts for many naval components: cannon, shot and shells, iron ballast, sailcloth, live oak and cedar, and saltpeter for gunpowder.

As the years went by

This was the great paradox of his career: his optimistic view of America's potential coexisted with an essentially pessimistic view of human nature. His faith in Americans never quite matched his faith in America itself.

To safeguard the public interest, the government would become a minority stockholder in the bank and able to vote for directors.

although she never guessed the depths of corruption revealed by Rockefeller's papers.

Seldom has history produced such a contradictory figure.

if a crash is widely expected, it won't occur, for a saving fear will filter through the marketplace.

Hamilton said, he would follow the classic path of a populist demagogue: "I would mount the hobbyhorse of popularity, I would cry out usurpation, danger

A laconic man, he liked to canvass everyone's opinion before expressing his own and then often crafted a compromise to maintain cohesion.

Madison wrote, "If men were angels, no government would be necessary." The two shared a grim vision of the human condition, even if Hamilton's had the blacker tinge. They both wanted to erect barriers against irrational popular impulses and tyrannical minorities and majorities.

At one point, Bill suggested that if John didn't find work he might have to return to the country; the thought of such dependence upon his father made "a cold chill" run down his spine, Rockefeller later said.27 Because he approached his job hunt devoid of any doubt or self-pity, he could stare down all discouragement. "I was working every day at my business—the business of looking for work. I put in my full time at this every day.