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Standard Oil
Type Ohio Corporation (1870-1882), Business Trust (1882-1892), New Jersey Holding Company (1899-1911)[1]
Founded 1870
Headquarters Cleveland (1870-1885), New York (1885-1911)[2]
Key people John D. Rockefeller, Founder & Chairman
Henry M. Flagler, Senior Executive
John D. Archbold, Vice President
William Rockefeller, Senior Executive & New York Representative
Samuel Andrews, Chemist & First Chief of Refining Operations
Charles Pratt, Senior Executive
Henry H. Rogers, Senior Executive
Oliver H. Payne, Senior Executive
Daniel O'Day, Senior Executive
Jabez A. Bostwick, Senior Executive & First Treasurer
William G. Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads A corporation is a separate legal entity usually used to conduct business Year 1870 ( MDCCCLXX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1882 ( MDCCCLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common A special trust or business trust is business entity formed with intent to monopolize business to restrain trade, or to fix prices. Year 1892 ( MDCCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year New Jersey ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. A holding company is a company that owns part all or a majority of other companies' outstanding Stock. Year 1899 ( MDCCCXCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state Year 1885 ( MDCCCLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The City of New York John Davison Rockefeller ( July 8, 1839 &ndash May 23, 1937) was an American Industrialist and philanthropist Henry Morrison Flagler ( January 2 1830 &ndash May 20 1913) was an American tycoon, Real estate promoter John Dustin Archbold (1848-1916 was an American capitalist and one of the United States' earliest oil refiners William Avery Rockefeller Jr ( May 31, 1841 - June 24, 1922) American financier was a co-founder with his older brother John D Samuel Andrews (1836-1904 was a Chemist and Inventor. Born in England, he immigrated to the United States before the American Civil War Charles Pratt ( October 2 1830 – May 4 1891) was a United States capitalist, Businessman and Henry Huttleston Rogers ( January 29 1840 &ndash May 19 1909) was a United States capitalist, Businessman Oliver Hazard Payne (1839 - 1917 was an American businessman organizer of the American Tobacco trust and assisted with the formation of U Daniel O'Day was one of northwestern Pennsylvania's earliest independent refiners to be brought into John D A branch of the New York Bostwick family rose to prominence when Jabez Abel Bostwick made a fortune in business and was a founding partner and first Treasurer of the Standard Warden [3], Senior Executive
Jacob Vandergrift [4], Senior Executive
Industry Oil and Gas
Products Fuels, Lubricants, Petrochemicals
Employees 60,000 (1909) [5]

Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. For other uses of this term see Industry (disambiguation An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent industrious" These are lists of petroleum companies. List of companies by size of oil reserves A list of the largest petroleum companies is always somewhat arbitrary as state-owned companies In Marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a Market that might satisfy a want or need Petrochemicals are chemical products made from raw materials of Petroleum or other Hydrocarbon origin Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. Year 1909 ( MCMIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit Established in 1870, it operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational corporations until it was broken up by the United States Supreme Court in 1911. Multinational corporation ( MNC) or transnational corporation ( TNC) is a Corporation or enterprise that manages Production or delivers The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. [3] John D. Rockefeller was a founder, chairman and major shareholder, and the company made him a billionaire and eventually the richest man of all time. John Davison Rockefeller ( July 8, 1839 &ndash May 23, 1937) was an American Industrialist and philanthropist

Standard Oil Refinery No. 1 in Cleveland, Ohio, 1899
Standard Oil Refinery No. 1 in Cleveland, Ohio, 1899

Contents

Early years

Standard Oil began as an Ohio partnership formed by the well-known industrialist John D. Rockefeller, his brother William Rockefeller, Henry Flagler, chemist Samuel Andrews, and a silent partner, Stephen V. Harkness. Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads John Davison Rockefeller ( July 8, 1839 &ndash May 23, 1937) was an American Industrialist and philanthropist William Avery Rockefeller Jr ( May 31, 1841 - June 24, 1922) American financier was a co-founder with his older brother John D Henry Morrison Flagler ( January 2 1830 &ndash May 20 1913) was an American tycoon, Real estate promoter Samuel Andrews (1836-1904 was a Chemist and Inventor. Born in England, he immigrated to the United States before the American Civil War Stephen Vanderburgh Harkness (1818–1888 was an American harnessmaker from Cleveland Ohio, who invested as a silent partner with oil titan John D In 1870 Rockefeller incorporated Standard Oil in Ohio. Using highly effective tactics, later widely criticized, it absorbed or destroyed most of its competition in Cleveland in less than two months in 1872 and later throughout the northeastern United States, putting numerous corporations out of business. Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state

In the early years, John Rockefeller dominated the combine, for he was the single most important figure in shaping the new oil industry. [3] He quickly distributed power and the tasks of policy formation to a system of committees, but always remained the largest shareholder. A mutual shareholder or stockholder is an Individual or company (including a Corporation) that legally owns one or more shares of Authority was centralized in the company's main office in Cleveland, but decisions in the office were made in a cooperative way. [4]

In response to state laws trying to limit the scale of companies, Rockefeller and his partners developed innovative ways of organizing, to effectively manage their fast growing enterprise. In 1882, they combined their disparate companies, spread across dozens of states, under a single group of trustees. This organization proved so successful that other giant enterprises adopted this "trust" form.

As the company grew through effective business practices, it developed other strongly anti-competitive strategies, including a systematic program of offering to purchase competitors. After purchasing them, Rockefeller shut down those he believed to be inefficient and kept the others. In a seminal deal, in 1868, the Lake Shore Railroad, a part of the New York Central, gave Rockefeller's firm a $0. The New York Central Railroad, known simply as the New York Central in its publicity was a Railroad operating in the Northeastern United States. 25 per bbl. (71%) discount off of its listed rates in return for a promise to ship at least 60 carloads of oil daily and to handle the loading and unloading on its own, a huge competitive advantage.

Smaller companies decried the deals as unfair because they were not producing enough oil to qualify for discounts. In 1872, Rockefeller joined the South Improvement Company which would have allowed him to receive rebates for shipping and receive drawbacks on oil his competitors shipped. The South Improvement Company was a Pennsylvania corporation in 1871-1872 But when this deal became known, competitors convinced the Pennsylvania Legislature to revoke South Improvement's charter. The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the state legislature of the U No oil was ever shipped under this arrangement.

In one example of Standard's aggressive practices, a rival oil association tried to build an oil pipeline to overcome Standard's virtual boycott of its competitors. A boycott is a form of Consumer activism involving the act of voluntarily abstaining from using buying or dealing with someone or some other organization as an expression of In response, the railroad company at Rockefeller's direction denied the association permission to run the pipeline across railway land, forcing consortium staff to laboriously decant the oil into barrels, carry them over the railway crossing in carts, and pump the oil manually into the pipeline on the other side. A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container traditionally made of Wood Staves and bound with Iron Hoops The When Rockefeller learned of this tactic, he instructed the railway company to park empty rail cars across the line, thereby preventing the carts from crossing his property.

Standard's actions and secret transport deals helped its kerosene price to drop from 58 to 26 cents from 1865 to 1870. Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage is a Combustible Hydrocarbon liquid Competitors disliked the company's business practices, but consumers liked the lower prices. Standard Oil, being formed well before the discovery of the Spindletop oil field and a demand for oil other than for heat and light, was well placed to control the growth of the oil business. Spindletop is a Salt dome Oil field located in south Beaumont, Texas (approx The company was perceived to own and control all aspects of the trade. Oil could not leave the oil field unless Standard Oil agreed to move it: the "posted price" for oil was the price that Standard Oil agents printed on flyers that were nailed to posts in oil producing areas, and producers had no power to negotiate those prices.

In 1885, Standard Oil of Ohio moved its headquarters from Cleveland to its permanent headquarters at 26 Broadway in New York City. Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state The City of New York Concurrently, the trustees of Standard Oil of Ohio chartered the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (SOCNJ) to take advantages of New Jersey's more lenient corporate stock ownership laws. SOCNJ eventually became one of many important companies that dominated key markets, such as steel and the railroads. Steel is an Alloy consisting mostly of Iron, with a Carbon content between 0

Also in 1890, Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act — the source of all American anti-monopoly laws. The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses The Sherman Antitrust Act ( Sherman Act, July 2, 1890, ch 647,) was the first United States Federal statute to limit Cartels and The law forbade every contract, scheme, deal, or conspiracy to restrain trade, though the phrase "restraint of trade" remained subjective. The Standard Oil group quickly attracted attention from antitrust authorities leading to a lawsuit filed by then Ohio Attorney General David K. Watson.

From 1882 to 1906, Standard paid out $548,436,000 in dividends at 65. Dividends are payments made by a Corporation to its Shareholder members 4% payout ratio. Dividend payout ratio is the fraction of net income a firm pays to its stockholders in dividends \mbox{Dividend payout ratio}=\frac{\mbox{Dividends}}{\mbox{Net Income for the As is common practice in business, a fraction of the profits was put back into the business, rather than being distributed to stockholders. The total net earnings from 1882 to 1906 amounted to $838,783,800, exceeding the dividends by $290,347,800. The latter amount was used for plant expansion.

1895 - 1920

In 1897, John Rockefeller retired from the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, the holding company of the group, but remained a major shareholder. Vice-president John Dustin Archbold took a large part in the running of the firm. John Dustin Archbold (1848-1916 was an American capitalist and one of the United States' earliest oil refiners At the same time, state and federal laws sought to counter this development with "antitrust" laws. In 1911, the US Justice Department sued the group under the federal antitrust law and ordered its breakup into 34 companies. For animal rights group see Justice Department (JD The United States Department of Justice ( DOJ) is a Cabinet department

Standard Oil's market position was initially established through an emphasis on efficiency and responsibility. While most companies dumped gasoline in rivers (this was before the automobile was popular), Standard used it to fuel its machines. While other companies' refineries piled mountains of heavy waste, Rockefeller found ways to sell it. For example, Standard created the first synthetic competitor for beeswax and bought the company that invented and produced Vaseline, the Chesebrough Manufacturing Company, which was a Standard company only from 1908 until 1911. For the rock song by Nirvana see Beeswax (song. Beeswax is a natural Wax produced in the bee hive of Honey bees of the genus Vaseline (Vasenol in Portugal Brazil Italy and Spain is a brand of Petroleum jelly based products owned by Anglo-Dutch company Unilever.

One of the original "muckrakers" was Ida M. Tarbell, an American author and journalist. For other meanings see Muckraker (disambiguation The term muckraker most associated with a group of American investigative reporters Ida Minerva Tarbell ( November 5 1857 &ndash January 6 1944) was a American Teacher, Author and Journalist. Her father was an oil producer whose business had failed due to Rockefeller's business dealings. After extensive interviews with a sympathetic senior executive of Standard Oil, Henry H. Rogers, Tarbell's investigations of Standard Oil fueled growing public attacks on Standard Oil and on monopolies in general. Henry Huttleston Rogers ( January 29 1840 &ndash May 19 1909) was a United States capitalist, Businessman Her work was published in 19 parts in McClure's magazine from November 1902 to October 1904, then in 1904 as the book The History of the Standard Oil Company. McClure's or McClure's Magazine was an American illustrated monthly periodical popular at the turn of the 20th century The History of the Standard Oil Company is a Book written by journalist Ida Tarbell in 1904

The Standard Oil Trust was controlled by a small group of families. Rockefeller stated in 1910: "I think it is true that the Pratt family, the Payne-Whitney family (which were one, as all the stock came from Colonel Payne), the Harkness-Flagler family (which came into the Company together) and the Rockefeller family controlled a majority of the stock during all the history of the Company up to the present time". The Whitney family is an American family notable for their social prominence wealth business enterprises and philanthropy founded by John Whitney (1592-1673 who came from The Rockefeller family, the renowned Cleveland family of John D [5]

These families reinvested most of the dividends in other industries, especially railroads. They also invested heavily in the gas and the electric lighting business (including the giant Consolidated Gas Company of New York City). They made large purchases of stock in US Steel, Amalgamated Copper, and even Corn Products Refining Company. The United States Steel Corporation ( is an integrated Steel producer with major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe Unilever is a Multi-national corporation, formed of Anglo - Dutch parentage that owns many of the world's Consumer product brands [6]

Monopoly charges, anti-trust litigation and breakup

By 1890, Standard Oil controlled 88% of the refined oil flows in the United States. The state of Ohio successfully sued Standard, compelling the dissolution of the trust in 1892. Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads But Standard only separated off Standard Oil of Ohio and kept control of it. Eventually, the state of New Jersey changed its incorporation laws to allow a company to hold shares in other companies in any state. New Jersey ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. So, in 1899, the Standard Oil Trust, based at 26 Broadway in New York, was legally reborn as a holding company, the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (SOCNJ), which held stock in 41 other companies, which controlled other companies, which in turn controlled yet other companies. A holding company is a company that owns part all or a majority of other companies' outstanding Stock. This conglomerate was seen by the public as all-pervasive, controlled by a select group of directors, and completely unaccountable. [7]

In 1904, Standard controlled 91% of production and 85% of final sales. Most of its output was kerosene, of which 55% was exported around the world. Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage is a Combustible Hydrocarbon liquid Standard's plants were about as cost efficient as competitors'. After 1900 it did not try to force competitors out of business by underpricing them. [8] The federal Commissioner of Corporations concluded that beyond question, Standard's dominant position in the refining industry was due "to unfair practices, to abuse of the control of pipe-lines, to railroad discriminations, and to unfair methods of competition. "[9] Standard's market share fell gradually to 64% by 1911. It did not try to monopolize the exploration and pumping of oil (its share in 1911 was 11%).

In 1909, the US Department of Justice sued Standard under federal anti-trust law, the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, for sustaining a monopoly and restraining interstate commerce by:[10]

"Rebates, preferences, and other discriminatory practices in favor of the combination by railroad companies; restraint and monopolization by control of pipe lines, and unfair practices against competing pipe lines; contracts with competitors in restraint of trade; unfair methods of competition, such as local price cutting at the points where necessary to suppress competition; [and] espionage of the business of competitors, the operation of bogus independent companies, and payment of rebates on oil, with the like intent. For animal rights group see Justice Department (JD The United States Department of Justice ( DOJ) is a Cabinet department The Sherman Antitrust Act ( Sherman Act, July 2, 1890, ch 647,) was the first United States Federal statute to limit Cartels and "

The lawsuit argued that Standard's monopolistic practices took place in the last four years:[11]

"The general result of the investigation has been to disclose the existence of numerous and flagrant discriminations by the railroads in behalf of the Standard Oil Company and its affiliated corporations. With comparatively few exceptions, mainly of other large concerns in California, the Standard has been the sole beneficiary of such discriminations. In almost every section of the country that company has been found to enjoy some unfair advantages over its competitors, and some of these discriminations affect enormous areas. "

The government identified four illegal patterns: 1) secret and semi-secret railroad rates; (2) discriminations in the open arrangement of rates; (3) discriminations in classification and rules of shipment; (4) discriminations in the treatment of private tank cars. The government alleged:[12]

"Almost everywhere the rates from the shipping points used exclusively, or almost exclusively, by the Standard are relatively lower than the rates from the shipping points of its competitors. Rates have been made low to let the Standard into markets, or they have been made high to keep its competitors out of markets. Trifling differences in distances are made an excuse for large differences in rates favorable to the Standard Oil Company, while large differences in distances are ignored where they are against the Standard. Sometimes connecting roads prorate on oil—that is, make through rates which are lower than the combination of local rates; sometimes they refuse to prorate; but in either case the result of their policy is to favor the Standard Oil Company. Different methods are used in different places and under different conditions, but the net result is that from Maine to California the general arrangement of open rates on petroleum oil is such as to give the Standard an unreasonable advantage over its competitors

The government said that Standard raised prices to its monopolistic customers but lowered them to hurt competitors, often disguising its illegal actions by using bogus supposedly independent companies it controlled. [13]

"The evidence is, in fact, absolutely conclusive that the Standard Oil Company charges altogether excessive prices where it meets no competition, and particularly where there is little likelihood of competitors entering the field, and that, on the other hand, where competition is active, it frequently cuts prices to a point which leaves even the Standard little or no profit, and which more often leaves no profit to the competitor, whose costs are ordinarily somewhat higher. "

On May 15, 1911, the US Supreme Court upheld the lower court judgment and declared the Standard Oil group to be an "unreasonable" monopoly under the Sherman Antitrust Act. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. In Economics, a monopoly (from Greek monos, alone or single + polein, to sell exists when a specific individual or enterprise has sufficient The Sherman Antitrust Act ( Sherman Act, July 2, 1890, ch 647,) was the first United States Federal statute to limit Cartels and It ordered Standard to break up into 34 independent companies with different boards of directors. [14]

Standard's president, John Rockefeller, had long since retired from any management role. But, as he owned a quarter of the shares of the resultant companies, and those share values mostly doubled, he emerged from the dissolution as the richest man in the world. [15]

1920 - 1945

By 1911, with public outcry at a climax, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that Standard Oil must be dissolved and split into 34 companies. A moral panic can be defined as "the intensity of feeling expressed by a large number of people about a specific group of people who appear to threaten the social order at a given The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. Two of these companies were Jersey Standard ("Standard Oil Company of New Jersey"), which eventually became Exxon, and Socony ("Standard Oil Company of New York"), which eventually became Mobil. Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing transporting refining and marketing company The petroleum industry includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting (often by Oil tankers and pipelines Exxon is a brand of fuel sold by ExxonMobil. History Exxon formally replaced the Esso, Enco, Mobil Gas Station by David Shankbonejpg|thumb|Mobil gas station East Village section of New York City]] Mobil was a major American oil company Mobil Gas Station by David Shankbonejpg|thumb|Mobil gas station East Village section of New York City]] Mobil was a major American oil company

Over the next few decades, both companies grew significantly. Jersey Standard, led by Walter C. Teagle, became the largest oil producer in the world. Walter Clark Teagle (May 1878 – January 9, 1962) was responsible for leading Standard Oil to the forefront of the oil industry and significantly expanding It acquired a 50 percent share in Humble Oil & Refining Co., a Texas oil producer. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. Socony purchased a 45 percent interest in Magnolia Petroleum Co., a major refiner, marketer and pipeline transporter. The Magnolia Petroleum Company was an early twentieth century petroleum company in Texas and was founded on April 24 1911 as a consolidation of several In 1931, Socony merged with Vacuum Oil Co. , an industry pioneer dating back to 1866 and a growing Standard Oil spin-off in its own right.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Jersey Standard had oil production and refineries in Indonesia but no marketing network. Asia-Pacific or APAC is the area generally regarded as encompassing Littoral East Asia, Southeast Asia and Australasia near the The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. Socony-Vacuum had Asian marketing outlets supplied remotely from California. In 1933, Jersey Standard and Socony-Vacuum merged their interests in the region into a 50-50 joint venture. Standard-Vacuum Oil Co. , or "Stanvac," operated in 50 countries, from East Africa to New Zealand, before it was dissolved in 1962. East Africa is the Easternmost Region of the African Continent. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island

1945 - 1970

Mobil Chemical Company was established in 1960. The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals As of 1999, its principal products included basic olefins and aromatics, ethylene glycol and polyethylene. In Organic chemistry, an alkene, olefin, or olefine is an unsaturated Chemical compound containing at least one Carbon Ethylene glycol ( monoethylene glycol ( MEG) 12-ethanediol, IUPAC name: ethane-12-diol) is an Alcohol with two -OH Polyethylene or polythene ( IUPAC name poly(ethene) is a Thermoplastic commodity heavily used in consumer products (notably the The company produced synthetic lubricant base stocks as well as lubricant additives, propylene packaging films and catalysts. Propene, also known as propylene, is an unsaturated organic compound having the Chemical formula C 3 H 6 Catalysis is the process in which the rate of a Chemical reaction is increased by means of a Chemical substance known as a catalyst Exxon Chemical Company (first named Enjay Chemicals) became a worldwide organization in 1965 and in 1999 was a major producer and marketer of olefins, aromatics, polyethylene and polypropylene along with specialty lines such as elastomers, plasticizers, solvents, process fluids, oxo alcohols and adhesive resins. Polypropylene or polypropene ( PP) is a Thermoplastic Polymer, made by the Chemical industry and used in a wide variety of applications An elastomer is a Polymer with the property of Elasticity. The term which is derived from elastic polymer, is often used interchangeably with the term Plasticizers are additives that increase the Plasticity or Fluidity of the material to which they are added these include plastics cement concrete wallboard and A solvent is a liquid or gas that dissolves a solid liquid or gaseous Solute, resulting in a Solution. Oxo alcohols are Alcohols that are prepared by adding Carbon monoxide (CO and Hydrogen (usually combined together as Synthesis gas) to an Glue or adhesive is a compound that adheres or bonds two items together Resin, not to be confused with Rosin, is a Hydrocarbon Secretion of many Plants particularly coniferous trees. The company was an industry leader in metallocene catalyst technology to make unique polymers with improved performance. A Ziegler-Natta catalyst is a Reagent or a mixture of reagents used in the production of Polymers of 1-alkenes (α-olefins

In 1955, Socony-Vacuum became Socony Mobil Oil Co. and in 1966 simply Mobil Oil Corp. A decade later, the newly incorporated Mobil Corporation absorbed Mobil Oil as a wholly owned subsidiary. A subsidiary, in business matters is an entity that is controlled by a bigger and more powerful entity Jersey Standard changed its name to Exxon Corporation in 1972 and established Exxon as a trademark throughout the United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the In other parts of the world, Exxon and its affiliated companies continued to use its Esso trademark.

Legacy and criticism of breakup

Whether the breakup of Standard Oil was beneficial is a matter of some controversy. [16] Many economists agree that Standard Oil was not a monopoly, citing its much reduced market presence by the time of the antitrust trial. They also argue that the intense free market competition resulted in cheaper oil prices and more diverse petroleum products for consumers. In 1890, Rep. William Mason, arguing in favor of the Sherman Antitrust Act, said: "trusts have made products cheaper, have reduced prices; but if the price of oil, for instance, were reduced to one cent a barrel, it would not right the wrong done to people of this country by the trusts which have destroyed legitimate competition and driven honest men from legitimate business enterprise". [17]

The Sherman Act prohibits the restraint of trade. The Sherman Antitrust Act ( Sherman Act, July 2, 1890, ch 647,) was the first United States Federal statute to limit Cartels and Defenders of Standard Oil insist that the company did not restrain trade, they were simply superior competitors. The federal courts ruled otherwise.

Some analysts argue that the breakup was beneficial to consumers in the long run, and no one has ever proposed that Standard Oil be reassembled in pre-1911 form. [18]

Successor companies

The successor companies from Standard Oil's breakup form the core of today's US oil industry. (Several of these companies were considered among the Seven Sisters who dominated the industry worldwide for much of the twentieth century. The Seven Sisters of the Petroleum industry is a term coined by an Italian entrepreneur Enrico Mattei, that refers to seven oil companies that dominated mid ) They include:

Other Standard Oil spin-offs:

Other companies divested in the 1911 breakup:

Note: Standard Oil of Colorado was not a successor company; the name was used to capitalize on the Standard Oil brand in the 1930s. Standard Oil of Colorado was chartered in Denver CO in 1922 It was eventually rechartered under the name Standard Oil Company of Colorado in 1927 and began to sell stock in Standard Oil of Connecticut is a fuel oil marketer not related to the Rockefeller companies.

Notes

  1. ^ John D. and Standard Oil. Bowling Green State University. Retrieved on 2008-05-07. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 558 - In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses
  2. ^ Rockefellers Timeline. PBS. Retrieved on 2008-05-07. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 558 - In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses
  3. ^ a b One of the world's first and biggest multinationals - see Daniel Yergin, The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991, (p. 35).
  4. ^ Hidy, Ralph W. and Muriel E. Hidy. Pioneering in Big Business, 1882–1911: History of Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) (1955).
  5. ^ Standard Oil controlled by a small group of families - see Ron Chernow, Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. , London: Warner Books, 1998, (p. 291)
  6. ^ Jones, Eliot. The Trust Problem in the United States pp. 89–90 (1922) (hereinafter Jones).
  7. ^ Standard Oil of New Jersey seen as all-pervasive and unaccountable, holding stock in a myriad of other companies - see Yergin, op. cit. , (pp. 96–98)
  8. ^ Jones pp 58–59, 64.
  9. ^ Jones. pp. 65–66.
  10. ^ Manns, Leslie D. , "Dominance in the Oil Industry: Standard Oil from 1865 to 1911" in David I. Rosenbaum ed. , Market Dominance: How Firms Gain, Hold, or Lose it and the Impact on Economic Performance, p. 11 (Praeger 1998).
  11. ^ Jones, p. 73.
  12. ^ Jones, p 75–76.
  13. ^ Jones, p. 80.
  14. ^ See generally Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States, 221 U. S. 1 (1911).
  15. ^ Rockefeller the richest man after the dissolution of 1911 - see Yergin, op. cit. , (p. 113)
  16. ^ see [1] [2]
  17. ^ Congressional Record, 51st Congress, 1st session, House, June 20, 1890, p. 4100.
  18. ^ David I. Rosenbaum, Market Dominance: How Firms Gain, Hold, or Lose it and the Impact on Economic Performance, New York: Praeger Publishers, 1998, (pp. 31–33)

See also

Bibliography

External links

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