Skip to main content

Primary sourcePainting9 February 1904

Rockefeller Watches Son Manage U.S. Steel

Bob Satterfield · 9 February 1904

A 1904 political cartoon by Bob Satterfield showing John D. Rockefeller secretly checking up on his son's management of U.S. Steel.

Rockefeller is the central figure depicted, shown monitoring his son's business management.

Ask John D. Rockefeller about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Political cartoon by Satterfield. A seated man with round glasses, labeled John D. Jr., sits on a stool wearing oversized shoes labeled Father's Shoes, which rest on a dollar-sign bag and a Steel Trust pedestal under a glass dome. Behind a curtain, an older bald man labeled John D. Sr. peers out while holding a long ticker-tape strip that runs down to a wastebasket. A framed sampler reads President Harper loveth a cheerful giver. A caption at the bottom quotes John D. Rockefeller, Sr. saying his interests in the United States Steel Corporation are well represented by his son.
Bob Satterfield, cartoon, 9 February 1904.

About this source

What it is

This is a political cartoon drawn by Bob Satterfield, published in 1904. It shows John D. Rockefeller, Sr. peering from behind a curtain while reading a ticker tape, watching over his son, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., who sits on a stool labeled with his father's business interests. A framed sampler on the wall refers to William Rainey Harper, the first president of the University of Chicago, a institution Rockefeller funded.

Why it matters

The cartoon reflects how the public viewed Rockefeller's immense wealth and influence, even in business matters handled by his son. It shows how cartoonists used family relationships to comment on corporate power and philanthropy in the early 1900s.

Look closer

  • Why might the artist choose to show Rockefeller spying rather than directly managing the company?
  • What does the sampler referencing Harper suggest about Rockefeller's public image?
  • How does the cartoon use visual exaggeration to make its point?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of John D. Rockefeller on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More John D. Rockefeller sources

Meet the AI John D. Rockefeller →
Title page of 'The History of the Standard Oil Company' by Ida M. Tarbell, Volume One, published by McClure, Phillips & Co., New York, MCMV. Includes a red publisher's emblem with an anchor and the initials McC P & Co.Book

Secondary source

The History of the Standard Oil Company

Ida Tarbell · 1904

Handwritten enrolled manuscript of the Act of July 2, 1890, headed 'Fifty-first Congress of the United States of America; At the First Session' with the title 'An Act to protect trade and commerce against unlawful restraints and monopolies,' and the opening sections written in long-hand script.Document

Primary source

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

2 July 1890

Political cartoon from the magazine Puck titled 'The Bosses of the Senate.' Large caricatured trust figures in top hats and frock coats, labeled with trust names like Steel Beam, Copper, and Standard Oil, fill the gallery above a Senate chamber of seated lawmakers at desks. A sign reads 'This is Senate of the Monopolists, by the Monopolists, for the Monopolists.' Signed by J. Keppler.Painting

Primary source

The Bosses of the Senate

Joseph Keppler · 23 January 1889

Oval black-and-white portrait of a young man with short dark hair, wearing a dark suit jacket, white shirt, and dark bow tie, shown from the chest up against a light background.Photograph

Primary source

John D. Rockefeller at 22

Unknown · c. 1861

Handwritten manuscript page of the Act to Regulate Commerce, headed Forty-Ninth Congress of the United States of America, At the Second Session, with the text of the act in ink below, bordered in red ink, on aged paper.Document

Primary source

Interstate Commerce Act

4 February 1887

Ready when you are

Start chatting with John D. Rockefeller now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions