James Duke: The American Tobacco Company

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James Duke was a successful business leader in the tobacco industry and other diversified industries, hydroelectric power and textile industries. James Duke grew up in the South on a farm. His family turned to the tobacco crop and subsistence farming because so much tobacco was destroyed in the South during the Civil War and once the fighting stopped the demand for tobacco skyrocketed. Knowing tobacco’s market potential Duke’s father sold their farm and set up a business in a tobacco factory. James joined the family business, W. Duke and Sons, after completing business training school at a New York school. James began seeking creative ways to promote and improve the family business. He developed many innovative marketing and production techniques that lead his family business to …show more content…

Duke as president as the company, became the dominant leader in the tobacco industry. With Duke’s hard work and effectiveness by 1898, the American Tobacco Company had almost eliminated its competition. In 1910, the company expanded to the overseas markets. The United States government watched over the company for several years. In 1907, the Company faced lawsuits of alleged violations of anti-trust regulations. In 1911,the federal government charged the American Tobacco Company with violations of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. James Duke as shared his fortune through philanthropy. In 1924, Duke created the Duke Endowment with 40 million dollars. With this endowment a portion went to Trinity College in North Carolina, later the school was renamed Duke University in honor of James Duke. James Duke would have considered the late nineteenth century to have been a Gilded Age for many reasons. One reason is, he was a very successful and prosperous business leader. Another reason is, his establishment in the tobacco industry, allowed Duke to flourish in the tobacco industry, that he is most responsible

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