Ida Tarbell
"There is no man more dangerous, in a position of power, than he who refuses to accept as a working truth the idea that all a man does should make for rightness and soundness, that even the fixing of a tariff rate must be moral."
-Ida Tarbell
Famed investigative journalist Ida Tarbell was born on November 5th, 1857. She graduated from Allegheny College (the only woman to do so at the time) and is most famous for her articles attacking big businesses such as the Standard Oil Company.
The Standard Oil Company, founded by John D. Rockefeller, primarily used a tactic called horizontal integration to bankrupt competitors. To get consumers, the company would always lower their prices, even if it meant running a deficit. This resulted in other competitors gaining no revenue because they couldn't sell anything. Then, the Standard Oil Company would quickly buy the competitor’s company before it went bankrupt. At this time, these small businesses would sell themselves at a low price because they had such low output. The business even partook in illegal activities such as hiring thugs to "silence" competitors. By 1873, the Standard Oil Company owned approximately a third of the total U.S. oil supply. The company quickly used these strategies to buy more and more businesses. By 1878, the Standard Oil Company owned approximately 90% of all oil refineries in the United States. Soon, the Standard Oil Company illegally became a dominant oil monopoly of the United States oil market by going against the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. This knowledge may seem common to some of us, but at the time, no one knew how the Standard Oil Company had become such a strong force. As a result, Ida Tarbell wanted to reveal this information to the public.
Ida Tarbell, with the help of her assistant, John Siddall, interviewed many witnesses. One such witness was Henry Rogers. Rogers’s answers founded the negative basis for the Standard Oil Company. Through her interviews with various individuals and the information of various documents throughout the country, she discovered various information, such as the inception of the company, various business deals, and even Rockefeller’s early interests. She wrote, “The History of the Standard Oil Company” to document her findings.
The government celebrated Tarbell’s work. The Standard Oil Company tried their best to hinder government investigation. For example, when asked questions, representatives evaded the questions by questioning the validity of the questions or refusing to even show up to the hearings.
The Standard Oil Company, founded by John D. Rockefeller, primarily used a tactic called horizontal integration to bankrupt competitors. To get consumers, the company would always lower their prices, even if it meant running a deficit. This resulted in other competitors gaining no revenue because they couldn't sell anything. Then, the Standard Oil Company would quickly buy the competitor’s company before it went bankrupt. At this time, these small businesses would sell themselves at a low price because they had such low output. The business even partook in illegal activities such as hiring thugs to "silence" competitors. By 1873, the Standard Oil Company owned approximately a third of the total U.S. oil supply. The company quickly used these strategies to buy more and more businesses. By 1878, the Standard Oil Company owned approximately 90% of all oil refineries in the United States. Soon, the Standard Oil Company illegally became a dominant oil monopoly of the United States oil market by going against the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. This knowledge may seem common to some of us, but at the time, no one knew how the Standard Oil Company had become such a strong force. As a result, Ida Tarbell wanted to reveal this information to the public.
Ida Tarbell, with the help of her assistant, John Siddall, interviewed many witnesses. One such witness was Henry Rogers. Rogers’s answers founded the negative basis for the Standard Oil Company. Through her interviews with various individuals and the information of various documents throughout the country, she discovered various information, such as the inception of the company, various business deals, and even Rockefeller’s early interests. She wrote, “The History of the Standard Oil Company” to document her findings.
The government celebrated Tarbell’s work. The Standard Oil Company tried their best to hinder government investigation. For example, when asked questions, representatives evaded the questions by questioning the validity of the questions or refusing to even show up to the hearings.