USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Horizontal integration enabled Rockefeller to gain tremendous control over the oil industry and use that power to influence vendors and competitors. For example, he could pressure railroads into giving him lower rates because of the volume of his products.

Detailed explanation-2: -Rockefeller often bought other oil companies to eliminate competition. This is a process known as horizontal integration. Carnegie also created a vertical combination, an idea first implemented by Gustavus Swift. He bought railroad companies and iron mines.

Detailed explanation-3: -Standard Oil gained a monopoly in the oil industry by buying rival refineries and developing companies for distributing and marketing its products around the globe. In 1882, these various companies were combined into the Standard Oil Trust, which would control some 90 percent of the nation’s refineries and pipelines.

Detailed explanation-4: -The monopolies they created in the oil and steel industries allowed them to control the prices of their goods; thus keeping them as high as possible. There was limited competition in the market to undercut their prices.