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     The Rockefellers advanced the beliefs, values, and traditions of democracy.  The Rockefellers advanced the beliefs of democracy by believing in the importance of freedom to worship, fairness, and family.  They had a strong belief in God.  The democratic documents of the United States also hold firm to a belief in God.  They also beleived in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
    The Rockefellers advanced the values and traditions of democracy of democracy at Kykuit by giving money to medical facilities and through their other philanthropies.  They supported the basic rights of all people in education, medicine, exploration, and the right to elect public officials.  However, it seems that they did not wait for the government officials to solve public problems.  They did this work on their own.
 

     The Rockefeller family did and did not advance the beliefs, values and traditions of democracy. This essay will focus on the philanthropies.
     One of the major beliefs of the Rockefellers was the belief that experts funded by private philanthropy could solve public problems.  They did this for the common good of others often without government approval.  John D. Rockefeller believed in a good education for children.  He also believed in religion and faith. They supported the Baptist church.   John D. Rockefeller and his son were very good fans of the arts and Kykuit is a museum for some of that art today.  John D. Sr. gave millions away in the many philanthropies.  One of his major philanthropies was in the support of medicine.  He wanted medicines to help cure and prevent diseases.
     Although the Rockefeller family mostly followed the beliefs, values and traditions of democracy with their philanthropies, they didn't always do what people wanted.  In some cases people did not want their help.  Some people thought their philanthropies only made the Rockefellers look good in the public eye.  It was almost a way to give back what they had taken away in owning the Standard Oil Company.  The Standard Oil Company was a monopoly during its time.  In my opinion not everything the Rockefellers did while living at Kykuit was in the common good or for the best interest of the people.  That is why the Rockefellers did and did not advance the beliefs, values and traditions of democracy.

     At the Archive Center, a question similar to this was asked.  It surprised us that the question was answered with a yes and a no.  The archivists said that the Rockefellers did and didn't advance the beliefs, values and traditions of democracy in different cases.  We were told through our interviews and found out in our research that the Rockefellers had kind hearts and were interested in promoting modern medicine.  It is also believed that their religion was a motivating role in their philanthropic giving.
     At the Archive Center the archivists told us that the Rockefellers did not always make their decisions by democratic voting.  They did help people out of the goodness of their hearts, but also believed that experts that were funded by philanthropies could solve the problems of the public people.  Others, I'm sure felt differently about their generosity.

     STUDENT WAS UNABLE TO COMPLETE DUE TO ILLNESS.
 
 

     The Rockefellers advanced the beliefs, values and traditions of democracy.  They did this by giving their money to experts to find a cure for a disease called hookworm.
     The Rockefellers didn't advance the beleifs, values, and traditions of democracy.  They did not by not believing in voting to solve certain problems.  They solved public problems themselves instead of government voting to find out what to do with tax mony.  Therefore, the Rockefellers did and did not advance the beliefs, values and traditions of democracy.
 
 

     The Rockefellers advanced the beliefs, values, and traditions of democracy through their philanthropies.  Rockefellers gave millions in support of the arts, medicine, and their church (Baptist).  It is their motives that often come into question.  Did they do this out of sincere care for others or did they do this to make up for the stories told about ruthlessness in the past.  Even though they had millions, they lived simply.  Was this another show?  It appears that one may never know the real answer.  In the research it appears that there is supoport for the Rockefellers advancing the beliefs, values and traditions in their work to cure hookworm and provide good education.  However, they did not often use the democratic process.

     The Rockefellers advanced their beliefs in democracy through their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.  The way this was accomplished included many actrivities stemming from their philanthropies.  One example was the world cure of hookworm.
     The way the Rockefellers didn't advance the beliefs in democracy is because they didn't believe in the public vote as the way to provide needed solutions.  The Rockefellers had private solutions to public problems instead of the government vote.

     John D. Rockefeller was an oil tycoon who was sometimes considered a ruthless competitor in the corporate world.  John D. Sr. was a very wealthy man but instead of spending his wealth on leisure he supported philanthropic causes.  He generously supported the arts, medicine, education and his church.  He gave a total of one billion dollars.  In this he supported the values and traditions of democracy.  He did not support the process of democracy because instead of looking to the government he used his own private ways to solve public problems.

     The Rockefellers did advance the beliefs, values, and traditions of democracy by Standard Oil.  They had a monopoly, and this changed values by inspiring the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.  This trust outlawed monopolies.  This changed the government greatly.  Even today, you hear much about this act with different media people asking whether or not Microsoft broke the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
     The Rockefellers did not advance the beliefs of democracy.  They believed their experts funded by private philanthropy could solve public problems.  This does not support democracy because in democracy you get a vote.  This is more like kings and queens.

     Basically, the Rockefellers did advance the beliefs, values, and traditions of democracy in their every day lifestyle while living at Kykuit.  They owned private property and were free men (they lived their lives the way they pleased).  They owned a business, (a big one) where in other countries such rights could not be exercised freely.  They did what they wished with their money.  They gave to whom they wnated, when they wanted and how much they wanted.
     Unfoirtunately, like most things, the Rockefellers wore a double edged sword.  While they did as they pleased they did not count on the vote to get things done.  They did basically what they wanted with the money, and they felt that the experts they funded with their private philanthropy could solve public problems , while the "public" becomes the main focus rather than individuals.  Meanwhile, Rockefeller Senior thought of his philanthropies as a relifious thing, while the U.S. Constitution clearly state " separation of church and state."  However, I feel Junior was following in the footsteps of his "old man" so to speak, and this is a tradition born out of democracy.