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John D. Rockefeller DAY 1 Debates on Wednesday: Who is your individual? Who struggled more to gain their achievement. Against: Hope Solo

Rockefeller was born in Richford, New York, and was one the second of six children. His father was a traveling salesman, who gained reputation for his shady work instead of actually being productive. Rockefeller was raised mainly by his devout Baptist mother, who had to deal with maintaining the household while putting up with her husband and his secret life, which included a second wife. Rockefeller often took small jobs in order to support his family, and even loaned small amounts of money to his neighbors. At age 16, he was hired as a bookkeeper for a produce company. He displayed very good accounting skills, which helped him later in his career. He was particularly good at calculating transportation costs, which was a key part in forming a monopoly. From the first time he got a paycheck, he donated about 6% of it to charity. As he got older, he began giving tithes to his church. The skills he gained early on served him well when he went into the oil business with his brother. The firm they created, Standard Oil, became one of the most successful U.S. companies in history due to its monopoly on the nation’s oil refining and distribution. Standard Oil gained almost complete control through Rockefeller creating a more efficient system, which allowed him to sell oil at lower prices than his competitors. He could then buy the other companies, and lower production costs even more. At the time of his death, with inflation rates accounted for, Rockefeller is considered to be one of the wealthiest men ever.
 * Background information of the individual - create the context. Determine biases, motives, etc.**

Quote by Rockefeller about his life: “I was early taught to work as well as play, My life has been one long, happy holiday; Full of work and full of play- I dropped the worry on the way- And God was good to me everyday.”

Rockefeller exemplifies the American Dream because he was born poor, but through hard work he became very wealthy. He had to deal with helping raise his five siblings while his father was away cheating on his mother. When a person is born into a lower class, it is often difficult to get out of. Yet, Rockefeller managed to not only support his family, but also gave a lot to charity. In his life, Rockefeller donated nearly $550 million dollars to charity. Rockefeller lived the American dream because he showed that hard work and perseverance pays off.
 * The problem which they overcame to become the person they iconic individual we relate to today. (include specific details as available)**

"John D. Rockefeller." //Wikipedia//. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 May 2012. Web. 28 May 2012. <__ http ____ : __//__ en ____. ____ wikipedia ____. ____ org ____ / ____ wiki ____ / ____ John ____ _ ____ D ____ ._ ____ Rockefeller ____ >. __//
 * Bibliography:**

//"10 People Living the American Dream."// TheStreet.com//. 04 July 2011. Web. 28 May 2012. <__ http ____ : __//__ www ____. ____ thestreet ____. ____ com ____ / ____ story ____ /11173382/1/10- ____ people ____ - ____ living ____ - ____ the ____ - ____ american ____ - ____ dream ____. ____ html ____ >. __