The Standard Oil Trust of Ohio was and American oil producing, refining, and transporting company. It was founded in 1863 by John D. Rockefeller and lasted until 1911. During 1868, Rockefeller expanded the oil company to become the largest oil refining company in the world. In 1870, the company was renamed Standard Oil Company. After it was renamed, Rockefeller purchased most of the oil companies that were currently in business to make one large company. Rockefeller’s actions created a monopoly. A monopoly is when someone owns most or all of the company or business empire so that no one other person can control it. Rockefeller did this by buying up all of the supplies to make oil barrels so that his competitors were not able to transport oil to their customers. He also created a monopoly by buying up or creating oil related businesses such as pipeline and engineering firms. Rockefeller negotiated with the railroad companies so that it would cost less to ship the oil. This price was much less than the price of his competitors, which saved him money and made him profit more. This appalled Ida Tarbell, the daughter of a former oil company owner. Her father owned one of the companies that Rockefeller drove out of business and then later bought. Rockefeller’s monopolization of the oil industry affected Ida and her family tremendously. Tarbell was determined to prove that Rockefeller never played fair in his empire, the Standard Oil Trust. Because Ida wanted to show how Rockefeller did not play fair in his business, she was considered a muckraker. A muckraker is someone who spreads real or alleged scandal about another person. Under these circumstances, the information Ida shared with world was true. Ida Tarbell was one of the best... ... middle of paper ... ...013. . "The Dismantling of the Standard Oil Trust." Linfo. Linux, 12 Oct. 2006. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. . Page Tutor. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2013. . "Standard Oil Is Broken up by Supreme Court, May 15, 1911." Gale Student Resources in Context. DISCovering U.S. History, 2003. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. "Standard Oil Is Broken up by Supreme Court, May 15, 1911." Gale Student Resources in Context. Historic U.S. Events, 2012. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. "Standard Oil Trust." US History. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2013. . Tarbell, Ida Minerva. The History of the Standard Oil Company. New York: McClure, 1904. Google Books. Web. 5 Nov. 2013. .
Rockefeller even wrote in a letter to a partner, "we must remember we are refining oil for the poor man and he must have it cheap and good" (83).
None of the competition knew what the rates were for the rebates or the rates that Rockefeller was paying the railroad. This made it hard for the competition to keep up with the Standard Oil Company. The consequences led to many oil companies being secretly bought out by Rockefeller. All in all, 25 companies surrendered to Rockefeller's relentless expansion, which was 20% of the oil industry in America.... ...
...arbell certainly fit into the muckraker personae, she disliked the muckraker label (Weinberg). Tarbell wrote the article "Muckraker or Historian," in which she justified her efforts for exposing the oil trust (King). She in no way wanted to stir up society; she simply wanted to show the Standard Oil Company's misuse of power and have it stopped.
In these articles, Tarbell showed the readers how Rockefeller conducted these illegal methods through quotes and even interviews with Henry H. Rogers, the most powerful senior executive of Standard Oil. In this series, Tarbell wrote about how Rockefeller made secret agreements with the South Improvement Company (Ida Tarbell, 1857-1944: She Used Her Reporting Skills Against One of the Most Powerful Companies in the World) and how Rockefeller took someone else’s idea to make pipelines for the oil to travel through. Tarbell also wrote about how Rockefeller threatened the small oil producers to sell their businesses to them. Later Ida Tarbell managed to get anti-trust laws to eliminate monopolistic companies and let other smaller companies have a chance at
Many people consider Rockefeller a robber of industry because of his forcible ways of gaining his monopolies. Rockefeller was fond of buying out small and large competitors. If the competitors refused to sell they often found Rockefeller cutting the prices of his Standard Oil or in the worst cases, their factories mysteriously blowing up. Rockefeller was obsessed with controlling the oil market and used many of undesirable tactics to flush his competitors out of the market. Rockefeller was also a master of the rebate game. He was one of the most dominant controllers of the railroads. He was so good at the rebate that at some times he skillfully commanded the rail road to pay rebates to his standard oil company on the traffic of other competitors. He was able to do this because his oil traffic was so high that he could make or break a section of a railroad a railroad company by simply not running...
“Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and get to work.” - H.L Hunt. Spindletop was the first big oil strike in 1901, it gave a new shape to the state’s future. In fact, during World War II,Texas produced twice as much oil than Nazi Germany and Japan did combined. Oil didn’t change Texas overnight. You trusted me to find out What story should be told? After reading the documents that you gave me I decided I would do school funds,minorities in West Texas , and divorce rates.
Carnegie bought his own iron and coal mines (which were necessities in producing steel) because purchasing these materials from independent companies cost too much and was insufficient for Carnegie’s empire. This hurt his competitors because they still had to pay for raw materials at much higher prices. Unlike Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller integrated his oil business from top to bottom. Rockefeller’s system was considered a ‘horizontal’ integration. This meant that he followed one product through all phases of the production process, i.e. Rockefeller had control over the oil from the moment it was drilled to the moment it was sold to the consumer.
In the early 20th century, Ida Tarbell's attack on Standard Oil was seen as a great accomplishment, but the attack itself is questionable due to Tarbell's biases and accuracy. Ida M. Tarbell, "Lady Muckraker," was one of the greatest muckrakers of the early 20th century. Born in 1857, she lived her childhood in an oil boomtown. Her father, Franklin Tarbell, made his fortune off of oil. Tarbell knew and understoo...
First, the Standard Oil Company created money for the economy and provided jobs. This helped individuals pay bills, provide for their family among other things. Next, Rockefeller used techniques so that the price would be affordable for everybody. The company succeeded at this and the company provided cheap oil for homes which was used light among other tasks with this oil. Finally ,through all the stages of building up Rockefeller constantly gave to charity and ended up giving over 550 million dollars! With this money, Rockefeller helped the community in many ways. He helped generously donated a large sum of money to the General Education Board, so students could get an education and become successful. He also set up the Rockefeller Foundation, which helped everyday people with their well being. He also helped the Rockefeller Sanitary Committee. Rockefeller and the Standard Oil Company did a lot of positive outcomes in
...mpanies, it eventually came to the point where they couldn’t keep up and eventually became a part of Standard Oil. By the time Rockefeller had reached the age of 40, his company had controlled all national oil refining by 90% and about 70% of international export of said oil.
Rockefeller was America’s first billionaire, and he was the true epitome of capitalism. Rockefeller was your typical rags-to-riches businessman, and at the turn of the twentieth century, while everyone else in the working class was earning ten dollars max every week, Rockefeller was earning millions. There has been much discussion as to whether Rockefeller’s success was due to being a “robber baron”, or as a “captain of industry”. By definition, a robber baron was an industrialist who exploited others in order to achieve personal wealth, however, Rockefeller’s effect on the economy and the lives of American citizens has been one of much impact, and deserves recognition. He introduced un-seen techniques that greatly modified the oil industry. During the mid-nineteenth century, there was a high demand for kerosene. In the refining process from transforming crude oil to kerosene, many wastes were produced. While others deemed the waste useless, Rockefeller turned it into income by selling them. He turned those wastes into objects that would be useful elsewhere, and in return, he amassed a large amount of wealth. He sold so much “waste” that railroad companies were desperate to be a part of his company. However, Rockefeller demanded rebates, or discounted rates, from the railroad companies, when they asked to be involved with his business. By doing so, Rockefeller was able to lower the price of oil to his customers, and pay low wages to his workers. Using these methods,
Weeks, Jennifer. "BP's Financial Pain From Spill Is Just Beginning." CQ Researcher 21.29 (2011): 688. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
During John D. Rockefeller’s financial career in The Gilded Age, he used many cutthroat practices to ensure that local competitors would not challenge and he would have control over the market of oil with his Standard Oil Company. In order to make sure he controlled the oil market, he used what was known as horizontal integration. This name became the label for the process of eliminating any potential competition from the market that one wishes to succeed in. In order to establish a virtual monopoly over the oil market, Rockefeller used clever strategies to do so. John Rockefeller used “his firm's superi...
In 1870, Rockefeller, along with Samuel Andrews and Henry M. Flager incorporated the Standard Oil Company (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). Rockefeller’s Standard Oil began prospering and soon began buying out competitors. In 1872, the company had almost complete control over all the refineries in Cleveland. With such power, the company could negotiate...
John D. Rockefeller, born on July 8, 1839, has had a huge impact on the course of American history, his reputation spanning from being a ruthless businessperson to a thoughtful philanthropist (Tarbell 41). He came from a family with not much and lived the American dream, rising to success through his own wit and cunning, riding on the backs of none. His legacy is huge, amassing the greatest private wealth of any American in history. Rockefeller’s influence on our country has been both a positive and a negative one, he donated huge sums of money to various public institutions and revolutionized the petroleum industry. Along with all the positives to the country, Rockefeller also had many negative affects as well, including, by gaining his riches by means of a monopoly, often using illegal methods, by giving others a reason to frown upon capitalism, and by hurting smaller businesses.