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Secondary sourceBook1894

Wealth Against Commonwealth

Henry Demarest Lloyd · 1894

An 1894 book by journalist Henry Demarest Lloyd attacking Standard Oil's monopoly practices, an early and influential critique of Rockefeller's business empire.

This book was an early and influential critique of Rockefeller's Standard Oil monopoly, shaping public opinion against him.

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Title page of the 1894 book Wealth Against Commonwealth by Henry Demarest Lloyd. Printed text reads the title in capitals, 'BY HENRY DEMAREST LLOYD', a small oval emblem, and at the bottom 'NEW YORK, HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS, 1894'.
Henry Demarest Lloyd, Wealth Against Commonwealth, title page. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1894.

About this source

What it is

Wealth Against Commonwealth is a book written by muckraking journalist Henry Demarest Lloyd, published in 1894 by Harper & Brothers in New York. It grew out of essays Lloyd had written for The Atlantic Monthly about the dangers of dominating monopolies, and it focused heavily on Standard Oil, though it also discussed other companies and industrialists.

Why it matters

This book was one of the earliest major public attacks on Standard Oil and the business practices of John D. Rockefeller. It helped fuel the Progressive Movement's growing concern about monopolies in the early twentieth century, and it set an example that later muckrakers, including Ida Tarbell, would follow in their own investigations of Rockefeller's company.

Look closer

  • Why might a journalist choose to write a whole book criticizing one company and its leader?
  • What kind of evidence do you think Lloyd needed to make his argument convincing to readers?
  • How might Rockefeller himself have responded to this book, and why don't we hear his side in the title page alone?

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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