8. Before the Civil War ended Rockefeller owned the company himself
In February 1865 Rockefeller, certain that the market for whale oil for lighting would never recover after the war ended, bought out his partners (though he retained chemist Andrews). Abraham Lincoln had been a proponent of the Transcontinental Railroad, and Rockefeller was certain that the cross-country line, as well as the railroads of the South, would be built following the war. A boom in oil based products was forthcoming, and John D. positioned himself, through stock manipulation, borrowing money at low rates of interest and maximizing his profits, to be a leader in the oil based economy which was certain to follow the war. Coal was still the primary source of fuel to create steam, which was the engine that drove the economy. Rockefeller foresaw coal being supplanted by oil, and he was determined to be ready.
