John D Rockefeller Oil Industry Research Paper

John D. Rockefeller and the Oil Industry

When Americans think of oil today, they think of it a substance that the United States relies heavily upon, that it is necessary in everyday life. Of course, that cannot be denied considering people use oil in an assortment of ways, from producing gasoline to fuel cars to heating homes and even as an ingredient in cosmetic products. However, during the 1800s, oil was considered a nuisance by farmers. When the use of oil was discovered in the 1850s, it soon became known as “black gold” and the oil industry soared. Many started to test their luck in oil refining, one of whom was John D. Rockefeller. Unlike many others, Rockefeller had great success as he soon became the president of Standard Oil, a company

Even before he became the president of Standard Oil, Rockefeller and his partner Samuel Andrews made sure to keep meticulous records of their oil refinery and to save money by building their own supplies, converting waste into byproducts for sale, and by hiring chemists to find the largest amount of kerosene they can obtain from a barrel of crude oil and to increase the quality as well. Their high standards and efficiency allowed them to become the largest refiner in the world by 1868. His success and domination of the oil industry continued with Standard Oil, which “captured 90 percent of America’s oil refining and had pushed the price [of oil] down from 58 cents to eight cents a gallon” by 1879 (John D. Rockefeller and the Oil Industry). In fact, the use of oil was so popular that the use of other fuels quickly died out. The cheapness of oil also made it more affordable for the majority of Americans, who can now afford to light their homes for longer periods of time, something that was previously available only for the higher