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 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,
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).
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
...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.
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...
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.
...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.
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.
Roberts, Michael D. "Rockefeller and His Oil Empire." Northeast Ohio's Business Enthusiasts. Town Hall of Cleveland, July 2012. Web. 1 Feb. 2014. .
In the late nineteenth century, the oil industry was open to everyone. Sensing the commercial potential of the expanding oil production in western Pennsylvania in the early 1860’s, he built his first oil refinery near Cleveland in 1863.(3) He created new oil related companies such as engineering and pipeline firms that seemed to be independent operators. Rockefeller and his close colleagues, Andrews and Flagler, secretly co...
Numerous families living in small town America lost their income because of Standard Oil and forced hardship upon many. The legacy of John D. Rockefeller shall always live on as he has permanently shaped how this country looks. He has funded huge advancements in the fields of education and medicine along with starting the events to end lassiez-faire economics. The petroleum industry changed greatly during his career thanks to his research and completely new business methods were thought up of by him, some still in practice today.
The Standard Oil Monopoly John D. Rockefeller was the founder of the Standard Oil Company. He opened his first refinery in Cleveland, Ohio in 1863. In 1870 he created Standard Oil. By the 1890s, Rockefeller controlled 90% of the United States pipelines and refineries. Many critics of Rockefeller claim this was due to unfair business practices which gave him a monopoly on the oil market.
Granitz and Klein, in their analysis of the case, explain Rockefeller’s success in monopolizing the petroleum industry through transportation rather than refining. In contrast to the refining industry, there were only three railroads that transported petrol in 1870. Entry into the transportation stage was difficult because of high fixed costs. Therefore, it was possible to establish a cartel by “collusively agreeing to stabilize individual railroad market shares and by shifting petroleum shipments between railroads to enforce the agreement” (Granitz and Klein 1996, p. 2). The railroads facilitated Standard’s refinery acquisitions and prevented entry by setting high rates to non-Standard refiners. Rockefeller, very shrewdly, cooperated with the railroads t...
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...
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...