Thesis
“Although it lacked the Broadway play’s love story and happy ending, Tarbell’s investigation of how Rockefeller achieved domination of the oil industry had more than its share of intrigue, crime, and corruption. Tarbell used her sense of moral outrage, passion for justice, and historian’s eye for detail to revel the inner workings of Rockefeller’s business empire to the world (Oates 93).
Ida Tarbell was raised in one of the rough and oil booming towns of the region in Pennsylvania. She witnessed corruption and disaster in the economy at a very young age which gave her the idea that “it was your privilege and duty to fight injustice.”(93). This new thought gave her the later idea to investigate the largest monopoly that existed in America, Standard Oil, run by John D. Rockefeller, which was fumed for personal reasons (96). Her literary work and investigations would later lead to the disbanding of the monopoly and laws passed to prevent the corruption and competition occurring during these times.
Economic
“As a child, Ida saw how boom and bust cycles swept through the dirty, oil-slick communities that dotted the countryside and witnessed the horrors of accidents—fires and explosions—that plagued the industry. In 1872, suddenly and without warning, the region’s railroads—the link necessary to bring the oil to market—doubled their shipping rates, deeply cutting the independent producers profits” (Oates 93).
In Ida Tarbell’s time, corporations were taking every advantage to increase their profits, through legal or illegal methods. This shows a perfect example of how corrupt things were in the economy during these times. Large corporations were secretly getting rebates from the railroads and the prices for individual people were raised. The goal of the corporations was to drive individuals out of business and create a monopoly on the market. The government made an attempt to end this by imposing the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, but because of the way it was worded vaguely, the corruption and monopolies often still occurred. Because of Tarbell’s father being one of the individuals to suffer from this corruption, she could write from firsthand experiences of what she saw at the time. This experience greatly influenced Tarbell and she learned that it was one’s responsibility to fight injustice. Many of these corrupt economics that occurred in her early life greatly influenced her writing later on.
Political
“Tarbell’s finding’s strengthened the United States government’s case against Standard Oil. Following publication of her series, President Roosevelt decided to make an example of the great oil trust. On November 15, 1906, the government charged the standard oil company of New Jersey and its 70 affiliates with violating the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.” (Oates 97).
By showing how the corporation worked in collusion with railroads and carefully explaining its elaborate system of rebates and “drawbacks”, Tarbell began to piece her case together against the monopoly. When charged, the company and its trustees were eventually found guilty of creating a monopoly, conspiring to restrain and control interstate commerce through the use of railroad rebates and drawbacks, controlling pipelines, conducting industrial espionage, and illegally eliminating competition from the marketplace. After a series of appeals, the Supreme Court upheld the original decision against Standard Oil in May 1911, and the huge monopoly was broken up (97). Apart from prompting the government’s suit against Standard Oil, Ida Tarbell’s series, published in two volumes as The History of the Standard Oil Company in 1904, made great contributions to the passing of new laws to protect competition in the marketplace. In 1914 the government established the Federal Trade Commission to oversee business activities (98). Tarbell’s work and investigations gave so much influence to modern business activities and the way they are supervised.
Social
“While John D. Rockefeller was ruthlessly cornering the nation’s oil market, Ida Tarbell was attending college in western Pennsylvania. From an early age she had planned to become an independent, professional woman. “I would never marry,” she pledged. “It would interfere with my plan; it would fetter my freedom.” (Oates 94).
Ida Tarbell was not one’s average 19th century woman. She even had some feminist properties present within her and with her actions. Instead of marrying, she went to college and was the only female of her class (94). Her education would eventually help her career as a journalist and it would earn her respect among progressives that would praise her later in life. The education that she received helped her get her first job as a researcher at the Chautauquan, where she became familiar with the art of journalism and eventually assumed the roles of managing editor, if not the title. She would eventually go on to use her own pen and write her own works. Tarbell was not the usual when it came to women in society. She was very individualistic, determined, and never displayed any timid behavior (95). Tarbell was the most influential female writer of her time, and is considered one of the most influential of all time.
Ida Tarbell was one of the most influential female journalists of her time. She stepped over the social boundaries by pursuing her ambitions instead of having the regular life that many women were expected to follow. Her investigations of Standard Oil presented a case to the Supreme Court which resulted in the destruction of the monopoly and future laws to be passed to prevent any further business issues. Her ultimate duty in life was to “fight injustice”, which one could argue she did a good job of following through her actions.
