Ida Minerva Tarbell was born on November 5, 1857, in northwestern Pennsylvania. Her father was an oil producer and refiner who struggled to keep his business alive as a result of the price-fixing scheme used by John Rockefeller's Standard Oil company. (This left a lasting impression on Ida and would inspire her later on in life). Ida Tarbell attended Titusville High school and graduated in 1875. She then enrolled at Allegheny College, where she studied biology, but she also began to develop a strong interest in writing. In 1880, she was the only Woman in her class who graduated. She then took a teaching job in Poland, Ohio. But after two years, she resigned from teaching to pursue a writing career. Ida Tarbell was offered a job with the journal The Chautauquan. She worked there for a while, but then worked at McClure’s Magazine, writing numerous successful pieces, including popular biographies of Napoleon Bonapart and Abraham Lincoln. After that, Ida decided to go her own way with her writing, and that is when her journalism would achieve its greatest and long-lasting effect.
Ida Tarbell was …show more content…
Through her writing, Ida Tarbell exposed Rockefeller and his company, forcing the company to break apart. Through her contributions, Tarbell exemplified the idea of progressive reform by exposing big business, and showing that the upper class shouldn’t have all of the power. Ida Tarbell died on January 6, 1944, at the age of 86, from pneumonia. However, he legacy still lives on. In recognition of her achievements, in 2000 Tarbell was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. Then, two years later, she was featured as part of a United States Postal Service stamp series commemorating women journalists. To this day, Her History of the Standard Oil Company articles stand as some of the most important works of journalism in the 20th