Standard Oil Monopolies

Words: 663
Pages: 3
Open Document
In the late 1800s, industry was controlled by something known as trusts, and later, monopolies. A trust is an agreement throughout multiple companies that a singular company will control and make most all decisions for everyone involved. When a trust gained popularity, and more companies joined them, they became a monopoly, which is when a singular company has complete control over a specific market. Monopolies can be both helpful and hurtful to both the market and its consumers; However, the most prominent ones are hurtful. I believe that both trusts and monopolies in markets greatly harm the industry, and that Standard Oil, a very prominent and well known industry in the 1800s, should have been broken up. When a monopoly is beginning to …show more content…
Standard Oil drove out any and all competition in the oil industry, a rapidly growing industry during that time, and became the main (if not only) source of that product. Because of this, they were able to raise their prices from being quite low to being higher than average. Along with this, they were performing several illegal acts, such as asking money of their transporters to have the 'privilege' of transporting their goods, and because Standard Oil was the most prominent and well off, safe business at the time, they had little choice in the matter. Although one may argue that, because of their prominence, they would have a wider availability throughout the nation for all who required it, feeding the monopoly is not helpful in any way, shape, or form. Allowing a single company to completely rule a market, a rather large and necessary market at that, is an extremely risky and dangerous move due to the power they have. If they so desire, they could raise the prices from, say, 0.50$ to 5$ or even more, and the people would have no choice but to accept it because that was their only option. Having a monopoly such as Standard Oil reign free and do as they so desire is not helpful to its consumers, and the market …show more content…
Starting with Theodore Roosevelt enforcing the Sherman Anti-Trust Act as was intended, there have been several laws since ensuring that a market breaking monopoly will not happen again; However, this is not foolproof. As aforementioned, things such as Steam are still happening, or perhaps the better known Wal-Mart or Comcast. One can only hope that our current monopolies do not corrupt, and continue to provide affordable, high quality services to the
Show More

Related Documents: Standard Oil Monopolies

Standard Oil Monopoly Analysis

Steel production became more efficient, oil was able to be refined, and Thomas Edison was making several inventions. Businesses were ever expanding and had few things obstructing them. While business was reaching a new high, the costs associated with this new level also increased. Factories often required lots of workers, who would usually work in poor conditions. Small companies were being run out of business. Monopolies were being put in place. When monopolies started coming into place, there were…

Words 570 - Pages 3

Summary Of Standard Oil Monopoly

Monopoly is an extreme kind of market system in which a single company or a group of companies controls all or nearly whole market. Since a single owner or group of owners device market so monopoly results in higher prices and sometimes exploit consumers as they get less value products and pay more. Single firm has the monopoly power and takes over the market. In order to make things fair there are antimonopoly regulations that break the monopoly power of a single firm and hence promotes competition…

Words 450 - Pages 2

The Standard Oil Monopoly In The Late 1800's

leaders later participated in philanthropy, their goal in business was to hold a monopoly, which is the total control of production of a product. One business that had total control over a certain product in the late 1800s was the Standard…

Words 934 - Pages 4

John D. Rockefeller's The Standard Oil Trust

During the 20th century oil became the primary fuel and important part of the American economy. In 1862 John D. Rockefeller founded The Standard Oil Trust. Over the years he created an industrial empire, by controlling 90 percent of all oil produced and its processing, marketing, and transportation in the United States. Standard Oil gained a monopoly in the oil industry by developing companies for distributions and marketing its products in the Unites States and other countries. He built his company…

Words 1389 - Pages 6

John D. Rockefeller And Walt E. Disney's Monopolies

create monopolies and exploited the need in the market for a product. These men left their mark on history that no one will ever forget. Disney and Rockefeller created a complete control over their…

Words 748 - Pages 3

John D. Rockefeller's Monopolies

industrial era, business leaders such as Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Morgan created monopolies that greatly dictated the direction and state of the United State’s economy. Using varying tactics, these four men were able to conquer different emerging industries. Because business had very little regulation at the time, business leaders had limitless power. The first, main owner of a monopoly was Cornelius Vanderbilt. In the late 1800’s, he dominated the railroad market. The main way that…

Words 1129 - Pages 5

Andrew Carnegie's Business Methods

some ways very different. Rockefeller was in the oil industry and Carnegie was in the steel industry. Rockefeller created the Standard Oil Company that handled 90% of America’s oil industry by 1890. Carnegie created Carnegie Steel corporation. They were very similar in the way that they rose to power, but there were some differences. Rockefeller and Carnegie both took control of all the other businesses that were related to their product (steel and oil), in a process called vertical integration. Rockefeller…

Words 801 - Pages 4

How Did Rockefeller's Impact On The Oil Industry

John was in the oil industry business magnate he is considered the wealthiest man in America. While kerosene and gasoline grew in importance he got more and more wealthy. He had control of 90% of the United States oil. Rockefeller also had a big impact on the railroad industry. In 1879 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania charged Rockefeller of monopoly of the oil trade. Rockefeller was the second of six children born in Richford New York on November 13 1810. His family moved many times before staying…

Words 309 - Pages 2

Essay on John D

Professor Gardner Dec 21 2014 John D. Rockefeller and the Standard Oil Trust 1. In 1863 Rockefeller invested $4,000 in a Cleveland petroleum refinery; from there he devoted himself to the oil business. He had two principles he followed: avoid paying a profit to anyone and methodical cost cutting. He borrowed heavily from the banks and bought out his partners. This monopoly power allowed John to be a low-cost, high volume producer. “Standard Oil” suggested uniformly good quality. This power allowed John…

Words 361 - Pages 2

Monopolies Dbq

for a product at whatever level it wanted. These corporations, and the executives who ran them, became exceedingly wealthy and powerful, often at the expense of many poor workers. Some of the most powerful corporations were John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company, Andrew Carnegie’s Carnegie Steel, Cornelius Vanderbilt’s New York Central Railroad System, and J.P. Morgan’s banking house.” In my view from 1870-1900 big businesses governed by robber barons bolted up and had a substantial impact…

Words 940 - Pages 4