Thomas C. Durant
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
financier
Financier
Financier is a term for a person who handles typically large sums of money, usually involving money lending, financing projects, large-scale investing, or large-scale money management. The term is French, and derives from finance or payment...
and railroad promoter. He was vice-president of the Union Pacific in 1869 when it met with the Central Pacific
Central Pacific Railroad
The Central Pacific Railroad is the former name of the railroad network built between California and Utah, USA that formed part of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" in North America. It is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad. Many 19th century national proposals to build a transcontinental...
railroad at Promontory Summit
Promontory, Utah
Promontory in Box Elder County, Utah, United States, is notable as the location of Promontory Summit where the United States' Transcontinental Railroad was officially completed on May 10, 1869....
in Utah Territory. He created the financial structure which led to the Crédit Mobilier scandal
Crédit Mobilier of America scandal
The Crédit Mobilier scandal of 1872 involved the Union Pacific Railroad and the Crédit Mobilier of America construction company in the building of the First Transcontinental Railroad. The distribution of Crédit Mobilier shares of stock by Congressman Oakes Ames along with cash bribes to...
.
Biography
Durant was born February 6, 1820 in Lee, MassachusettsLee, Massachusetts
Lee is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, metropolitan statistical area. The population was 5,943 which was determined in the 2010 census. Lee, which includes the villages of South and East Lee, is part of the Berkshires resort...
. He studied medicine at Albany Medical College
Albany Medical College
Albany Medical College is a medical school located in Albany, New York, United States. It was founded in 1839 by Amos Dean, Dr. Thomas Hun and others, and is one of the oldest medical schools in the nation...
where, in 1840, he graduated cum laude and briefly served as assistant professor of surgery. After stopping teaching medicine, he became a director of his uncle's grain exporting company, Durant, Lathrop and Company in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Durant used the "Doctor" honorific
Honorific
An honorific is a word or expression with connotations conveying esteem or respect when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term is used not quite correctly to refer to an honorary title...
throughout his life.
While working with the prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
trade, Durant discovered the need for improved inland transportation, a discovery that led him to the railroad industry. Durant got his start in the railroad industry working as a broker for the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad. It was during this time that Durant became professionally acquainted with Henry Farnam
Henry Farnam
Henry Farnam was an American philanthropist and railroad president. He was born in Scipio, New York, and grew up working on his father's farm. By his teenage years, he had begun studying mathematics on his own and in 1820 he gained employment initially as a camp cook on the Erie Canal...
.
The two men created a new contracting company under the name of Farnam and Durant. In 1853 they were given the commission of raising capital and managing construction for the newly chartered Mississippi and Missouri Railroad
Mississippi and Missouri Railroad
The Mississippi and Missouri Railroad was the first railroad in Iowa and was chartered in 1853 to build a line between Davenport, Iowa on the Mississippi River and Council Bluffs, Iowa on the Missouri River and was to play an important role in the construction of the First Transcontinental...
(M&M). The M&M Railroad acquired major land grants to build Iowa's
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
first railroad (planned to go from Davenport
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
on the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
to Council Bluffs
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs, known until 1852 as Kanesville, Iowathe historic starting point of the Mormon Trail and eventual northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trailsis a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States and is on the east bank of the Missouri River across...
on the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
).
The centerpiece of the M&M was Government Bridge, which, in 1856 when completed, was the first bridge to cross the Mississippi River. The bridge linked the M&M to the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad. After a steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
hit the bridge, boat operators sued to have the bridge dismantled. Durant and the Rock Island hired private attorney Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
to defend the bridge. This association later played to Durant's favor when in 1862 President Lincoln selected Durant's new company, the Union Pacific, and its operation center in Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs, known until 1852 as Kanesville, Iowathe historic starting point of the Mormon Trail and eventual northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trailsis a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States and is on the east bank of the Missouri River across...
as the starting point of the First Transcontinental Railroad
First Transcontinental Railroad
The First Transcontinental Railroad was a railroad line built in the United States of America between 1863 and 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and the Union Pacific Railroad that connected its statutory Eastern terminus at Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska The First...
.
"Like Samson
Samson
Samson, Shimshon ; Shamshoun or Sampson is the third to last of the Judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Tanakh ....
he would not hesitate to pull down the temple even if it meant burying himself along with his enemies." Durant had a ruthless reputation for squeezing friend and foe for personal gain. The Pacific Railroad Act, which authorized the government subsidies for building the railroad, required that the Union Pacific not have concentrated ownership. Durant got around the restriction by persuading cohorts that if they put their names on the stock, he would make the initial payment for the stock. Then he enforced his ownership and controlled almost half the Union Pacific stock.
At the same time, Durant manipulated the stock market, running up the value of his M&M stock by saying he was going to connect the Transcontinental Railroad to it. He was secretly buying competing rail line stock, and then said the Transcontinental Railroad was going to go to that line.
Since the government paid for each mile of track laid, Durant overrode his engineers and ordered extra track to be laid in large oxbows. In the first 2½ years the Union Pacific did not extend further than 40 miles from Omaha
Omaha
Omaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, Texas...
. As the federal government was waging the American Civil War, Durant avoided its oversight on railroad construction.
During the war, Durant made a fortune smuggling contraband
Contraband
The word contraband, reported in English since 1529, from Medieval French contrebande "a smuggling," denotes any item which, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold....
cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
from the Confederate States, with the help of Gen. Grenville M. Dodge
Grenville M. Dodge
Grenville Mellen Dodge was a Union army officer on the frontier and during the Civil War, a U.S. Congressman, businessman, and railroad executive who helped construct the Transcontinental Railroad....
. When the war ended in 1865, the Union Pacific put extra labor on. It completed nearly two thirds of the transcontinental route. Durant employed Dodge as the chief engineer along the Platte River
Platte River
The Platte River is a major river in the state of Nebraska and is about long. Measured to its farthest source via its tributary the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which in turn is a tributary of the Mississippi River which flows to...
route.
One of Durant's biggest coups was the creation of Credit Mobilier of America
Crédit Mobilier of America scandal
The Crédit Mobilier scandal of 1872 involved the Union Pacific Railroad and the Crédit Mobilier of America construction company in the building of the First Transcontinental Railroad. The distribution of Crédit Mobilier shares of stock by Congressman Oakes Ames along with cash bribes to...
. Durant and George Francis Train
George Francis Train
George Francis Train was an entrepreneurial businessman who organized the clipper ship line that sailed around Cape Horn to San Francisco; he organized the Union Pacific Railroad and the Credit Mobilier in the United States, and a horse tramway company in England while there during the American...
joined together in March 1864 in a business venture to buy out the Pennsylvania Fiscal Agency, changing its name to Credit Mobilier. The company was one of the first to take advantage of the new limited liability
Limited liability
Limited liability is a concept where by a person's financial liability is limited to a fixed sum, most commonly the value of a person's investment in a company or partnership with limited liability. If a company with limited liability is sued, then the plaintiffs are suing the company, not its...
financial structures. Previously investors were responsible for the finances of a company if it had problems. Under limited liability, their only responsibility was for money paid in. Credit Mobilier was created to build the railroad track. Durant manipulated its structure so that he wound up in control of it. His company Union Pacific was effectively paying him via Credit Mobilier to build the railroad. Durant covered his tracks by having various politicians, including future President James Garfield
James Garfield
James Abram Garfield served as the 20th President of the United States, after completing nine consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Garfield's accomplishments as President included a controversial resurgence of Presidential authority above Senatorial courtesy in executive...
, as limited stockholders. In 1876 Durant was ousted from his position managing Credit Mobilier.
In 1870 Thomas Durant was elected a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers
American Society of Civil Engineers
The American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. ASCE's vision is to have engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward...
. Like many others, he lost a great deal of his wealth in the panic of 1873
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression until the 1930s, but is now known as the Long Depression...
. He spent the last twelve years of his life fighting lawsuits from disgruntled partners and investors.
Marriage and family
Durant was married to Hannah Heloise Trimble. Together they had two children: William West DurantWilliam West Durant
William West Durant was a designer and developer of camps in the Adirondack Great Camp style, including Camp Uncas, Camp Pine Knot and Sagamore Camp which are National Historic Landmarks. He was the son of Thomas C. Durant, the financier and railroad promoter who was behind the Crédit Mobilier...
, who became an architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, and Héloïse Durant Rose (1854?-1943) who became an American author, playwright, and critic who attended private schools in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and was fluent in Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and Arabic. His daughter also was a book reviewer for the New York Times and the author of plays, poems, essays, articles and short stories. Her dramatic poem Dante (1910) was translated into Italian and is believed to be the first American play produced on the Italian stage. She founded the Dante League in 1917 "for popular propaganda for the study of Dante" and was a signatory of the "Memorial to the Columbia College Board of Trustees," an 1883 petition to allow female students to attend lectures and examinations at Columbia College. (Other signers included Parke Godwin, Georgina Schuyler, Caroline Sterling Choate, Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony
Susan Brownell Anthony was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to introduce women's suffrage into the United States. She was co-founder of the first Women's Temperance Movement with Elizabeth Cady Stanton as President...
, Chauncey M. Depew, Emma Lazarus
Emma Lazarus
Lazarus began to be more interested in her Jewish ancestry after reading the George Eliot novel, Daniel Deronda, and as she heard of the Russian pogroms in the early 1880s. This led Lazarus to write articles on the subject. She also began translating the works of Jewish poets into English...
, Josephine Shaw Lowell
Josephine Shaw Lowell
Josephine Shaw Lowell was a Progressive Reform leader in the United States in the Nineteenth century. She is best known for creating the New York Consumers League in 1890.-Early years:...
, Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, Charles Comfort Tiffany
Charles Comfort Tiffany
Charles Comfort Tiffany was an American Episcopal clergyman, born in Baltimore. He served as a chaplain for a Connecticut regiment during the Civil War. He studied at Dickinson College, Andover Theological Seminary, and at Halle, Heidelberg, and Berlin; and was ordained priest in 1866. He was...
.)
Durant died in Warren County, New York
Warren County, New York
Warren County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Glens Falls, New York, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 65,707. It is named in honor of General Joseph Warren, an American Revolutionary War hero of the Battle of Bunker Hill...
on October 5, 1885. He is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery was founded in 1838 as a rural cemetery in Brooklyn, Kings County , New York. It was granted National Historic Landmark status in 2006 by the U.S. Department of the Interior.-History:...
in Brooklyn, New York.
Legacy and honors
- Durant, IowaDurant, IowaDurant is a city in Cedar, Muscatine, and Scott counties in the US state of Iowa. The population was 1,677 at the 2000 census. The community is named in honor of Thomas C...
was named after him. He endowed the community with several hundred dollars to establish the first school in the eastern Iowa community. Today the school is also named after him. - He achieved the construction of Government Bridge in 1856, the first to cross the Mississippi River.
- In 1870 Durant was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
- In the AMCAMCAMC may refer to:* AMC , a short-lived British steam car manufactured in London in 1910*AMC Networks, an American media company** AMC , originally American Movie Classics, a cable television channel owned by AMC Networks...
television series Hell on WheelsHell on Wheels (TV series)Hell on Wheels is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Joe and Tony Gayton. Set in 1865, the series centers on the settlement that accompanied the construction of the first transcontinental railroad, referred to as "Hell on Wheels" by the company men, surveyors, support...
, Durant is played by actor Colm MeaneyColm MeaneyColm J. Meaney is an Irish actor widely known for playing Miles O'Brien in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He is second only to Michael Dorn in most appearances in Star Trek episodes. He has guest-starred on many TV shows from Law & Order to The Simpsons...
. The series portrays the Union Pacific Railroad's construction of the eastern portion of the Transcontinental RailroadTranscontinental railroadA transcontinental railroad is a contiguous network of railroad trackage that crosses a continental land mass with terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single railroad, or over those owned or controlled by multiple railway companies...
.