In the late 18 century up to the early 19th century industries were booming. Many “wise” business men began forming monopolies and eliminating competition to form even more monopolies and become Captains of Industries. Among these corrupt men was robber baron John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937). Some could say Rockefeller was a great man who did so much for the American people, but the real truth is buried beneath the lie that everyone keeps repeating: “John D. Rockefeller created jobs for many Americans, donated for various philanthropical causes…etc...” The real truth is that he used ruthless business practices to enrich himself. When Edwin Drake first discovered oil in 1859 in Titusville, Pennsylvania, Rockefeller …show more content…
This not only brought in more consumers but forced his competitions to fall. In 1866, he proceeded with his plans for expanding the business. He built a second refinery in Cleveland naming it Standard Works and also brought his brother William Rockefeller into the partnership and opened an office in New York City, which William was in charge of, handling eastern trade and the export of kerosene (American Experience). Then in 1867, Henry M. Flagler joined aboard Rockefeller’s oil business, Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler was formed. By 1870 they were recognized as the largest oil company in the world (Hubpages). It took them eleven years to almost completely take over the oil and petroleum industry, but yet their ambitions and desires did not stop there. Rockefeller developed a plan that was designed to “control and direct the flow of oil into the hands of a narrowed group of refiners” (Hubpages). He did not take into account no one’s feelings, he did not care who was standing in his way. All he knew was that who ever was standing in his way was going to get crushed. The only thing he cared about was getting all the profit and nothing else. By this time, he had already wiped out four of his twenty-nine petroleum competitors. He was doing a good job, thanks to the help of his wife who advised him to keep everything a secret (hubpages). Since the …show more content…
In 1877, Rockefeller and the Standard Oil Company were at war with the Pennsylvania Railroad who entered the oil-refining business. Rockefeller saw the Pennsylvania Railroad as a major threat to his royal thrown. The Pennsylvania Railroad entered the oil-refining business and wanted to put together a network of independent refiners and producers. Rockefeller and his colleagues ended the Standard’s contract with the Pennsylvania; they also lowered the price of kerosene in the markets served by the Empire and its allies (Kenneth W. Rose). In order for Rockefeller to eliminate the Pennsylvania, he persuaded allied railroads (the Erie and the New York Central) to reduce shipping rates to cut into their rival’s business and profits. The Pennsylvania soon saw its self in some serious trouble and with many financial problems. In October of that year the Standard bought the refining assets of the Empire and forced it out of business. Rockefeller continued to expand his monopoly. He acquired a major pipeline system and a new agreement with railroads for all oil shipments among the railroads in exchange for reduced rates (Kenneth W. Rose). Rockefeller was becoming richer by the minute. In 1879 Standard Oil controlled 90 percent of the nation’s oil-refining capacity and also dominated both the transport of refined oil and piping. By 1913,
Rockefeller’s acts can be considered corrupt because they were unfair and unethical. He was lowering the price of oil products and collaborating with the railroads to get Monopoly in the oil
In the 1870’s oil prices where unstable and the production was always different. Rockefeller approached the owner of Cleveland's largest oil refinery owner and proposed they unite their companies. This would hopefully level prices and even production. The companies united as the Stand Oil Company. Rockefeller expand the influence of Standard Oil during the 1870’s and 1880’s.
With Standard Oil being the leading oil company, this limits other oil companies to sales because Standard Oil had the rights to many companies to produce and sell oil leaving very few businesses that other oil companies could sell to. This puts the little companies into a decrease in sales while Standard Oil makes a huge increase in sales. Small businesses worry about becoming bankrupt while Rockefeller becomes wealthy. Rockefeller was the reason why there were limits to big businesses because he was in control with oil companies not allowing others to succeed as
The US was under heavy control of a lot of trusts that were ran and were worth a lot of money. Standard Oil had a ton of products they were producing which made them have better control on the railroad, because they were the biggest lube manufacturer for the railroads. In the first presidential election of the 19th century the biggest issue in the election was trusts. The main reasons Standard Oil was broken up was because of the Sherman Antitrust Act and Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States.
Although the majority of capitalists considered captains of industry have given back to the greater good in some way or another through philanthropic acts such as the increase in productivity, expansion of markets, and/or provision of more jobs, in turn he/she can also be recognized as robber barons due to his/her utilization of unjustifiable and greed-driven tactics to gain an edge over, and eventually eradicate, his/her competition. The characterization of the majority of industrialists as robber barons is not justifiable due to the fact that a number of these leaders were also very philanthropic and can be described as both a captain of industry and/or a robber baron. John D. Rockefeller, an American business magnate and philanthropist, was the co-founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry in the late nineteenth century. Rockefeller utilized unjustifiable tactics such as rebates, drawbacks, and horizontal integration to grow his business and overwhelm his competitors and could thus easily lower commercial prices because of the unfair advantage that he had gained.
Rockefeller took advantage of the well oiled railroad system and created what is known as a monopoly. As seen in Document 7, George Rice tells a short tale of how Rockefeller drove him to a breaking point as Rockefeller owned most of the oil companies and also had the lowest prices that George himself and many other competitors couldn’t compete with. As Rockefeller became one of the wealthiest men in America, he used others downfalls to raise himself to the top. Many other people including members of congress even full under the shadow of gaining personal earnings based on controlling the railroads. As seen in Document 3, there were heavier hands at play in the congress and as shown there were many who participated.
George Rice, a small businessman who was ousted by Rockefeller’s oil monopoly, stated, “I am but one of the many victims of Rockefeller’s colossal combination… the railroads were in league with the Standard Oil concern at every point, giving it discriminating rates and privileges… against myself…” (George Rice, “How I Was Ruined By Rockefeller”). The account by Rice underlined how his business failed to compete with the alliance of Rockefeller’s company and the railroads. Since the Standard Oil company had an absolute monopoly, it would work with the railroad companies to crush any competition, like that of Rice. With the rise of large industry and their monopolization, the economy of the US was largely controlled by the dominant companies.
Weather this was a business strategy or wanting moral superiority, writers repetitively targeted Rockefeller. The rumors of borrowing materials from others enhanced the credibility of the accusations (Oil & Ideology). Eventually, Rockefeller became vulnerable, and his trust agreement created a huge mess of legal issues. The company was being convicted of spying on fellow competition, crushing partnerships, threatening to shut down other rivals, and becoming rich off other people's ruins. This went against Federal Law of the Sherman Antitrust Act for monopolizing.
Corruption was prevalent in the United States during the 1900s. Fraud existed in major industries, such as monopolies or unsafe working conditions. Several people wanting reform wrote books and articles about the industries which made a large impact on the consumers and users of industries. This put pressure on the president to make changes in regulating these industries. Muckrakers, a group of journalists, exposed corrupt issues to the American public, which brought reform to many major industries such as oil, railroads, and government.
John D. Rockefeller Sr: How did John D. Rockefeller impact the Industrial Revolution John Davison Rockefeller Sr. once stated “If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success” (John D. Rockefeller Quotes). John D. Rockefeller was the founder of Standard Oil in which then became one of the wealthiest men in the world. Rockefellers ongoing funding as a philanthropist and trust in oil is how the man's name still lives on to this day (The Rockefeller Archive Center). For thousands of years oil has been a main resource for human consumption, and remains the same.
Coming with a successful business is people trying to find faults in your greatness. Rockefeller was a Captain of Industry, he helped improve the inventions we already had by making oil more readily available. By doing this he made a fortune which made people believe that he was unable to be trusted, but all of these suspicions were incorrect, Rockefeller made his money honestly and helped our country thrive and become who we are today. Rockefeller had competition in the oil industry but,
Sammy Friedman Mr. Di Bartolo Term Paper The Standard Oil Company, founded in 1870, was one of the most notable companies in American history. Its success was unprecedented, and its effects on the American economy and way of business were powerful and lasting. Founded and expanded by John D. Rockefeller, the Standard Oil Company absorbed almost all other oil companies in the country and consolidated all of them under one “trust.” It then chartered several smaller branches in different states, such as New Jersey, in order to monopolize the oil industry and create an oil empire.
and abroad. In just over a decade since Standard Oil was incorporated, it had a near monopoly of the oil business in the U.S. and consolidated each division under one giant corporate umbrella, with Rockefeller overseeing all of it. Everything Rockefeller had done to this point had led to the first American monopoly or "trust," and it would serve as a guiding light for others in big business following behind him. With such an aggressive push into the industry the public and the U.S. Congress took notice of Standard soon became the epitome of a company grown too big and too dominant, for the public good.
He was able to influence the prices of oil and make his the most appealing, lowering the price in areas of high competition but lowering it in areas with little demand. Without legal documentation, Rockefeller bought out other companies, bribing them with money if they kept the buy a secret. He quickly was able to dominate the oil industry because he had secretly bought out all his competition without the other companies knowing, or the public, who were unaware that he controlled 90% of the oil market in the United States. At his prime, many claimed Rockefeller to be a robber baron, stating he engaged in business practices that were not only illegal, but then prohibited any other competition from existing to create a marketplace that would
For many, this period in time seemed shiny from the outside, however is was corrupt beneath the surface. Rockefeller started a small business, used his partners to expand it, then bought their shares out from under them. However, he also donated millions to charity, making him a perfect representation of the Gilded Age. Rockefeller achieved success through intelligent business tactics, however because of those tactics others fell through the cracks. The Gilded Age is perfectly represented by John D. Rockefeller due to his business successes and