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A little far-fetched, but what if Cornelius Vanderbilt ran for President in, let's say, 1852? Vanderbilt was very opportunistic, and based on his experience battling government-sanctioned monopolies in New York, he was definitely aware of the power that government could have in business. I imagine him running as a Democrat because of his more Jacksonian personality, and I can also see him picking someone like Sam Houston to be his Vice President; both men had similar opinions and personalities, and Houston being a war hero himself could counter their opponent, General Winfield Scott. I don't see him signing the Kansas-Nebraska Act because of his strong Unionist beliefs. He also had wanted to build a canal in Nicaragua, and if that's approved, the President of Nicaragua around 1856-1857 was quite cozy with Vanderbilt's competitors, so I could see Vanderbilt taking military action in Nicaragua. I also imagine him sponsoring government grants for the railroads and canals (for his company, of course,) which would be very popular with the Whigs, but not so much with the Democrats. Other than that, what else may happen under a Vanderbilt administration?
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