Standard Oil and 19th Century Business.
John Davidson Rockefeller (1839-1937) was the founding father of one of the strongest corporations in the history of the business world. His peerless leadership abilities and his dynamic attention to the details of his business enabled him to erect the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry in the decades leading into the 20th century. However, the Standard Oil Company caused great controversy in the [Rockefeller].
business world during this time because of Rockefeller's controversial vertical integration approach to business, drastic price cuts and building of trusts. The Standard Oil Company was forced to disseminate in 1911, by ruling of the Supreme Court, into thirty-eight individual firms (Rockefeller 2). Some historians may say that Rockefeller's largest mistake was his enormous success in his great business venture.
In The American Spirit, a book of historical documents and excerpts, by authors David M. Kennedy and Thomas A. Bailey, Rockefeller's famous tactics are broken down in a commentary by George Rice, a competitor of Rockefeller's, entitled "An Oil Man Goes Bankrupt (1899)". The writer of this powerful piece illustrates his difficulties with the Standard Oil Trust throughout his thirty-year career in the petroleum and refinery business. He discusses how Standard Oil built an unlawful empire through tainting the rates of the railroad and freight industries and controlling the prices of goods completely to their own discretion (Kennedy and Bailey 71). Rice explains in vivid detail, the price cuts that Rockefeller would place on his goods to lure customers away from his competition. Rice states, " they [Standard Oil] could temporarily cut only my customers" prices, and below cost", he also says, " they could effectively do this without causing themselves any significant financial harm" (Kennedy and Bailey 71).
Titan: The Life of John D. ... Flynn, John T. (1932). ... John D. ... John's mother, Eliza Davison Rockefeller, was a very religious, very disciplined woman who taught John to work and save, and to be charitable. At the tender age of 12, John Rockefeller was an experienced entrepreneur. ...
Rockefeller "Rockefeller, John Davison (1839-1937), was an American businessman,... who made a fortune in the petroleum industry, and became famous for his philanthropy (charity)." ... The Standard Oil Company was first known as the Standard Oil Company of Ohio in 1862 when John D Rockefeller first went into the oil business, but the name was changed to the Standard oil company in 1870 when Rockefeller and some business partners bought most of the oil refineries in Cleveland, New York and other cities. ... "(835) This made Rockefeller a wealth man, In addition to being the head of one of ...
John D. ... John Rockefeller was born to a large family on July 8th, 1839 in Richford, New York. ... His father would take long trips away from the family for his business, therefore John became very close to his mother. ... John didn't let this success get to his head and his beliefs and religion helped keep him grounded. ... John Rockefeller was one of the biggest philanthropists of the Gilded Age. ...
Was John D. Rockefeller of Standard Oil a Robber-Barron or was he a Captain of Industry. There have been split arguements over this matter; some people called Rockefeller a Captain of industry, because he earned his fortune through ingenuity and hard work. On the other hand, some believed that he ...
John D. Rockefeller was born on July 8, 1839 in New York. ... Rockefeller lived in a modest environment and attended Central High School in Cleveland. ... Rockefeller bought the refinery for $72, 500 and with Andrews, created Rockefeller & Andrews. ... Rockefeller helped many organizations and donated mass amounts of money for charitable purposes. ...
Industrialists such as Andrew Carnegie and John Rockefeller are seen by many as heroes whose industrial and philanthropic contributions, had, and continue to have, an enormous positive impact on the country. ... Rockefeller is still credited with having organized and imposed order on the petroleum industry. ... Rockefeller was the same age when he built the Standard Oil Company. ... Yet this success came at a price; Rockefeller's actions tarnished his reputation and made other view him as a robber baron. ... Without the determination and progress induced by John Rockefeller and Andrew Car...
Three of the biggest business leaders in the late nineteenth century were Andrew Carnegie "the steel king", John D. Rockefeller "the oil baron" and J. ... At a time when oil industry was one of the most striking developments of the years, John D. ... Rockefeller rarely showed any mercy, and just sought power. ... Rockefeller was aggressive and constantly went after money. ...
