USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -One result largely attributable to Tarbell’s work was a Supreme Court decision in 1911 that found Standard Oil in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The Court found that Standard was an illegal monopoly and ordered it broken into 34 separate companies. Bloodied, Rockefeller and Standard were hardly defeated.

Detailed explanation-2: -Tarbell, pictured here in 1904, made it the focus of her journalistic career to expose Standard Oil and Rockefeller’s brutal business practices. Tarbell later claimed she was opposed to Standard Oil not simply because it was dominant but because of what she perceived to be unfair business practices.

Detailed explanation-3: -By 1880, Standard Oil owned or controlled 90 percent of the U.S. oil refining business, making it the first great industrial monopoly in the world. But in achieving this position, Standard violated its Ohio charter, which prohibited the company from doing business outside the state.

Detailed explanation-4: -The purpose of Tarbell’s series was to show through careful study “how Standard Oil conducted its business.”52 She began by revealing the beginnings of the oil industry and how oil came to be in such great demand. Tarbell then described how Rockefeller first began to receive special rates from the railroads.