Standard Oil
(Economic)
1868 Standard Oil Company is Organized (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania).
What is it?
Standard oil is John D. Rockefeller's industrial organization that had absolute control over the oil industry at one point. Rockefeller had a business of an oil industry and he wanted to "Cash in on the lucrative lighting market (Chernow)". So he used horizontal integration which is when a person who owne's one business takes control over other businesses that are at the same level as theirs and has complete control over that industry which will benefit them financially. John D. Rockefeller took control over other small oil industries and made them his own. They were called Standard Oil and was known throughout the world. Other smaller oil industries became unhappy with Standard oil because it was taking all of their business which resulted in the smaller oil industries falling behind financially. The government started to take control of the situation by having John D. Rockefeller split up his company and sell some smaller industries to other companies so that one person didn't have absolute control over one industry. Government officials feared that one day Rockefeller could raise all of the oil prices just because he could to earn more money because no other companies would be competing with him for the lowest price. In the end Rockefeller had to get rid of his Standard Oil company and name his little portion a different name.
Why is it important?
Standard Oil is important in history because it showed the world what could happen if one company of a business had absolute control over the industry. This would show how smaller companies would suffer financially from Standard Oils popularity and how Standard Oil was benefitting more than it should have. It is also important because it shows a clear picture of horizontal integration and gives a clear reason why that should not be allowed on a large scale.
Is it a progress?
The Standard Oil organization was a progress for John D. Rockefeller because he benefitted financially from the popularity of his country. For the country Standard Oil was not a progress in history because it showed a sense of dictatorship of one company in charge of many other smaller countries that could not do anything about the situation. It was not a progress because other companies selling the same products suffered financially when they had no business due to the large scale business of Standard Oil. Even though Standard Oil was not a progress it led the country to start making a progress. This means that the country saw the negative effects that Standard Oil was having on people and made the country split up so that people could benefit from the oil business. Progress was shown when the government made the large scale business of Standard Oil split up.
Leading to...
Standard Oil helps lead to the next era of progressivism because this is an example of one company having all control over other smaller companies and how the government took control of the situation. The government made laws about companies controlling industries which is what progressivism is all about, making laws to benefit the people. More strict laws on businesses and corporations were made in the progressivism era.
Standard oil is John D. Rockefeller's industrial organization that had absolute control over the oil industry at one point. Rockefeller had a business of an oil industry and he wanted to "Cash in on the lucrative lighting market (Chernow)". So he used horizontal integration which is when a person who owne's one business takes control over other businesses that are at the same level as theirs and has complete control over that industry which will benefit them financially. John D. Rockefeller took control over other small oil industries and made them his own. They were called Standard Oil and was known throughout the world. Other smaller oil industries became unhappy with Standard oil because it was taking all of their business which resulted in the smaller oil industries falling behind financially. The government started to take control of the situation by having John D. Rockefeller split up his company and sell some smaller industries to other companies so that one person didn't have absolute control over one industry. Government officials feared that one day Rockefeller could raise all of the oil prices just because he could to earn more money because no other companies would be competing with him for the lowest price. In the end Rockefeller had to get rid of his Standard Oil company and name his little portion a different name.
Why is it important?
Standard Oil is important in history because it showed the world what could happen if one company of a business had absolute control over the industry. This would show how smaller companies would suffer financially from Standard Oils popularity and how Standard Oil was benefitting more than it should have. It is also important because it shows a clear picture of horizontal integration and gives a clear reason why that should not be allowed on a large scale.
Is it a progress?
The Standard Oil organization was a progress for John D. Rockefeller because he benefitted financially from the popularity of his country. For the country Standard Oil was not a progress in history because it showed a sense of dictatorship of one company in charge of many other smaller countries that could not do anything about the situation. It was not a progress because other companies selling the same products suffered financially when they had no business due to the large scale business of Standard Oil. Even though Standard Oil was not a progress it led the country to start making a progress. This means that the country saw the negative effects that Standard Oil was having on people and made the country split up so that people could benefit from the oil business. Progress was shown when the government made the large scale business of Standard Oil split up.
Leading to...
Standard Oil helps lead to the next era of progressivism because this is an example of one company having all control over other smaller companies and how the government took control of the situation. The government made laws about companies controlling industries which is what progressivism is all about, making laws to benefit the people. More strict laws on businesses and corporations were made in the progressivism era.