Muckraking: Investigative Journalism of the Early 20th CenturyMain MenuTable of ContentsPaths to the various pages of the site.An Introduction to MuckrakingA brief historical background of investigative journalism in the early 20th centuryMcClure's MagazineA look at the magazine that became the hub of investigative journalismThe exposing of Standard Oil's CorruptionA look at how Ida M. Tarbell helped to end John Rockefeller's reign as the "Oil King"Political Machines Across the U.S.A look at Lincoln Steffens' exposé of corrupt local governmentsJacob Riis' "How the Other Half Lives"A look at Jacob Riis' photojournalistic effort to shed light on tenement housingUpton Sinclair's "The Jungle"A look at the work that stimulated reform in workplace safety and eventually the Food and Drug Act of 1906Christian McKenna7d2ce4ee0bf1e1d67e1668aa3a89b25e9a636c97
The History of the Standard Oil Company: Vol. II by Ida M. Tarbell
1media/986d673f81b993487a2bd7a6504ba860.jpg2016-12-11T10:05:14-08:00The exposing of Standard Oil's Corruption7A look at how Ida M. Tarbell helped to end John Rockefeller's reign as the "Oil King"plain2016-12-11T15:58:26-08:00 By the year 1904, Standard Oil had monopolized the entire oil production and distribution industry in the United States. This monopolization was the direct cause of John D. Rockefeller, the founder of the company, becoming the richest man in modern history and the richest American of all time. The horizontal integration that engulfed the industry angered many American's, yet not much could be done about it due to the amount of money that Standard Oil had accumulated. One of those American's was Franklin Tarbell, a Standard Oil employee and the father of famous author and muckraker Ida M. Tarbell. Franklin planted a sense of suspicion and resentment towards the company in his daughter from a young age. After years of training and experience as a writer, Ida Tarbell translated these hereditary resentments into a nineteen piece article in McClure's magazine. The serialized work known as, "The History of the Standard Oil Company," first published in 1904 was one of the leading factors in the busting of the oil monopoly when it was finally found to be violating the Sherman Anti-Trust Act in 1911.
Tarbell used familiar muckraking tactics such as gaining the trust of several of Rockefeller's close associates and interviewing one of the companies founders, Frank Barstow. After months of research, she finally uncovered the crucial piece of evidence she needed. She discovered that Standard Oil had been rigging the railroad prices to decrease the value of it's competition until they were cheap enough to buy out.
Tarbell's exposé gave the thousands of American's who were upset with Standard Oil's business practices some validity. It also converted many of the public readers from McClure's magazine to a stance against Standard Oil and the idea of monopolization in any sector of business.
