John Pierpont Morgan is considered one of the founding fathers of the modern United States economy. He was an industrial genius that is accredited with the founding of many companies including General Electric and AT&T. However, Pierpont is looked upon as a saint and demon the same. He received a honorary degree from Harvard university that read: "Public citizen, patron of literature and art, prince among merchants, who by his skill, wisdom and courage, …showed first 75 words of 2941 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2941 total…impulses he acted on. A critic of Morgan said after his death, "Never again will conditions of government make it possible for any financier to bestride the country like a Colossus…having greater force, greater character, greater intellect and greater vitality than any other man on Wall Street, he naturally became the leader and remained the leader…in time little will remain except the feeling however much ability and strength and genius that man possessed."