Gilded Age Dinner Party Table 
Cornelius H. Vanderbilt was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into leadership positions in the inland water trade and invested in the rapidly growing railroad industry. Nicknamed "The Commodore", he is known for owning the New York Central Railroad. His biographer T. J. Stiles says, "He vastly improved and expanded the nation's transportation infrastructure, contributing to a transformation of the very geography of the United States.He helped to create the corporate economy that would define the United States into the 21st century.
John Davison Rockefeller Sr. was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history.
Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and futurist best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current electricity supply system.
W.E.B Dubois W.E.B. Du Bois, or William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, was an African American writer, teacher, sociologist and activist whose work transformed the way that the lives of Black citizens were seen in American society. Considered ahead of his time, Du Bois was an early champion of using data to solve social issues for the Black community, and his writing—including his groundbreaking The Souls of Black Folk—became required reading in African American studies.
Over View & Summary
This is my guest list, it includes a group of individuals ranging from monopolists to communists who share a common interest in political and economic concerns. Cornelius Vanderbilt (a typical railroad monopolist), John D. Rockefeller (the wealthiest American of all time), Henry Ford (revolutionized new processes), and Andrew Carnegie are the four corporate magnates I have (a real one for the people). I've invited two inventors in Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison both known for crazy innovative inventions. I also invited Booker T. Washington (at the time, the most powerful voice for African-Americans) and W.E.B. Dubois (director of the NAACP). Then there was J.P. morgan who made a fortune in railroads and other businesses as well as Cornelius Vanderbilt who is in a similar position
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans in history. He became a leading philanthropist in the United States and in the British Empire.
Henry was an American industrialist, business magnate, and founder of the Ford Motor Company and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that middle-class Americans could afford, he converted the automobile from an expensive curiosity into an accessible conveyance that profoundly impacted the landscape of the 20th century. He is credited with "Fordism": mass production of inexpensive goods coupled with high wages for workers. Ford had a global vision, with consumerism as the key to peace. His intense commitment to systematically lowering costs resulted in many technical and business innovations. Ford left most of his vast wealth to the Ford Foundation and arranged for his family to permanently control it.”
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African American community and of the contemporary black elite.
J.P Morgan was known for reorganizing businesses to make them more profitable and stable and gaining control of them. He reorganized several major railroads and became a powerful railroad magnate. He also financed industrial consolidations that formed General Electric, U.S. Steel, and International Harvester.
Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman who has been described as America's greatest inventor. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures.
Conversation #1
Booker T. Washinton
Vs.
W.E.B Dubois
Conversation #2
Tesla & Edison
Tesla: Well if it isn't the boss himself
Edison: Hello Nikolas, Long time no see, lovely dinner we've got today eh?
Tesla: Very lovely dinner in fact, but c'mon boss we're completely out of place here. We invent for the people not steal from them
Edison: You're right son, but they help fund us, they are frauds but to some extent they are of some use to us and the people
Tesla: I agree, and it's always nice to catch up with my eternal rival. Every time I get invited into one of these I just know you're here, you're an icon a legend even
Edison: I'm flattered Nikolas really, but you've also built quite a reputation yourself and this new project you're working the tesla coil is it? and these wireless systems? Truly astonishing work.
Tesla: All inspired by the one and only "Wizard Of Menlo Park"
Edison: Chuckles You know Nik, if we didn't disagree on so many thins and put our brains to work side by side I'd say we'd make a one hell of a team.
Tesla: Oh Thomas, we've tried and that's just not the way I see it. We push each other to make new innovative discoveries Thomas. I prefer our rivalry much more
Edison: Point proven, pass me the Caviar will ya Nik
The seating chart presented in this simulation can lead to many different types of conversations. The people sitting next to each other would most likely agree to what the one next to him might say while the people opposite of each other or sitting across the table would most likely disagree on several topics. The two conversations i’ve created are between Dubois and Booker T and Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. They’re conversations are about mutual agreement as I believe both sets of men would have agreed on things. In this Gilded Age Dinner everyone would dress to impress and would have proper table etiquette and respect towards one another. They would all comprehend the magnitude of power in the room and I don’t believe anyone would try something say like a fight or an argument that would lead in chaos.
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“Ok so let’s start by clarifying that we both want civil rights for black Americans, right?”
“Yes, we must sacrifice blood, sweat, and tears. Use every penny in our pockets”
“Nay, we must demonstrate we can hold our own, we must be self productive and self reliant”
Even when we’re asked oh so nicely, there will be heads Colliding
“Is that so”
“Of course but it’s unfortunate that our colliding Ideals and approach, will lead us into a rabbit hole, though I believe we can agree that education is key to reach our never end goal.”
“Nonsense, this will have to be a federal funded program, they should keep their promise and go through with it.”
“Now you’re only feeding into their peregrines”
“I guess we can only agree to disagree”