Secondary sourceBook1904

The History of the Standard Oil Company

Ida Tarbell · 1904

Ida Tarbell's muckraking exposé of Standard Oil's business tactics, which turned public opinion against Rockefeller and his trust.

This exposé documents Rockefeller's business practices and helped turn public opinion against his Standard Oil monopoly.

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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. — Ida Tarbell, The History of the Standard Oil Company, 1904.

About this source

What it is

This is a two-volume book by journalist Ida Tarbell, published in 1904 after being serialized in McClure's magazine. It investigates how John D. Rockefeller built the Standard Oil monopoly.

Why it matters

Tarbell's father worked in the oil business and lived through the pressure tactics of Standard Oil, which inspired her investigation. Using interviews with insiders and documentary evidence, she exposed railroad rebates and other tactics Rockefeller used against competitors. The book is considered a landmark of investigative journalism and helped build public and legal pressure that led to the government breakup of Standard Oil in 1911.

Look closer

Why might a journalist's personal background affect how she investigates a company?
How did detailed, careful reporting change public opinion about a powerful businessman?
What does the title page's reference to Rockefeller's birth date tell you about how the book frames its subject?

This book 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.

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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

Scanned antique stock certificate of the Standard Oil Company, Cleveland, 1875. Ornate border, a vignette of the U.S. Capitol building, and a flag with an eagle at left. Text reads 'This is to certify that William Rockefeller is entitled to 250 shares' with handwritten signatures at the bottom.

Document

Primary source

Standard Oil Stock Certificate

Standard Oil Company · 1872

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