Monopolies As A Monopoly

Monopolies have been around for hundreds of years and a concept that is still occurring to this day. It was adapted by the youngest world power, the United States, and became a major issue during the nineteenth century come the Gilded Age, with booming businesses like the Standard Oil Company that dominated other enterprises. The result was the creation of the first antitrust laws that would signal more to come. Yet even after all these decades, large companies like Google or even the Anheuser Busch Brewing Company are permitted to exist and can arguably, if not doubtlessly, be considered a monopoly. Harmful or not, should we allow any one organization to claim that much power? Some can even argue that nations are monopolizing other nations,

One of the most notorious of monopolies was John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil, naming him still the richest man in U.S. history. Beginning in 1870, Standard Oil grew by buying out its fellow oil business competitors or lowering prices, choking competition til’ they went bankrupt. Then in 1882, the Standard Oil Trust was created, merging companies into one. Rockefeller’s success became a paradigm for other businesses and trusts were formed among steel (Carnegie’s Steel Company), coal, railroad, and other corporations. Widespread media made the public aware of the growing monopolies that was the cause of their unemployment and the high prices of consumer products. By 1890 Rockefeller’s company owned 88% of America’s oil production and refineries (Selwyn-Holmes). However, his progress was halted when the government finally decided to take action and passed the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, triggering others to follow. The trust was dissolved, and in the early 20th century, Standard Oil was forced to divide, resulting in several independently owned oil companies. The Standard Oil Monopoly has finally reached its