Editing J. P. Morgan (section)

===Railroad investments and management===
{{Main|History of rail transport in the United States#Expansion and consolidation (1878–1916)}}
[[File:New Jersey Junction RR 1886 reverse.JPG|upright|thumb|Bond of the New Jersey Junction Railroad Company, issued 30. June 1886, reverse side with signatures of John Pierpont Morgan and Harris C. Fahnestock as trustees]]
In his ascent to power, Morgan focused on America's largest business enterprises: railroads.{{sfn|Strouse|1999|pp=223–62}} He led the syndicate that broke the government-financing privileges of [[Jay Cooke]]{{when|date=January 2023}} and developed and financed a national railroad empire by reorganization and consolidation. He raised large sums in Europe, and especially through the [[American rails]] section of the [[London Stock Exchange]].<ref>{{Cite book|author1=Lance E. Davis|author2=Robert E. Gallman| title=Evolving Financial Markets and International Capital Flows: Britain, the Americas, and Australia, 1865–1914 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=2001|pages=181–182}}</ref> Rather than participating solely as a financier, he actively managed and reorganized the railroad corporations, increasing efficiency<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-classicsleaders-jp-morgan-greatly-influenced-us-railroads-in-the-late-19th-century |title=FreightWaves Classics/Leaders: J.P. Morgan controlled US railroads and industry policies |last=Mall |first=Scott |date=October 21, 2021 |website= |publisher=FreightWaves |access-date=January 26, 2023 |quote=Morgan’s first target was the U.S. railroad industry, which will be the focus of this FreightWaves Classics article. He began by taking over small underfinanced companies, streamlined their management and operational efficiency, and then combined the companies into a dominant player. |archive-date=January 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230126151506/https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-classicsleaders-jp-morgan-greatly-influenced-us-railroads-in-the-late-19th-century |url-status=dead }}</ref> and acting as an [[Early history of private equity|early pioneer in the practice of private equity investing]], a process that became known as "Morganization."<ref>{{cite magazine | first=Heather| last=Timmons| title=J.P. Morgan: Pierpont would not approve| magazine=[[BusinessWeek]]| date=November 18, 2002}}</ref>

In 1883, Morgan successfully marketed a large part of [[William H. Vanderbilt]]'s [[New York Central]] holdings. In 1885, he reorganized the New York, West Shore & Buffalo Railroad and leased it to the New York Central.<ref>Albro Martin, Albro. "Crisis of Rugged Individualism: The West Shore-South Pennsylvania Railroad Affair, 1880-1885." ''Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' 93.2 (1969): 218-243. [https://journals.psu.edu/index.php/pmhb/article/download/42502/42223 online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114003801/https://journals.psu.edu/index.php/pmhb/article/download/42502/42223 |date=November 14, 2022 }}</ref> 
In 1887, Congress passed the [[Interstate Commerce Act]]. Morgan set up industry conferences in 1889 and 1890 which paved the way for a wave of consolidations in the early 20th century. In an unprecedented move, he brought together railroad presidents to follow the new laws and write agreements for the maintenance of "public, reasonable, uniform and stable rates." The first of their kind, the conferences created a community of interest among competing lines, paving the way for the great consolidations of the early 20th century.{{sfn|Carosso|1987|pp=219–69}}{{sfn|Carosso|1987|pp=352–96}}