Ida Tarbell, in full Ida Minerva Tarbell, (born November 5, 1857, Erie county, Pennsylvania, U.S.—died January 6, 1944, Bridgeport, Connecticut), American journalist, lecturer, and chronicler of American industry best known for her
classic The History of the Standard Oil Company (1904)
.
How did Ida Tarbell change the world?
The McClure’s magazine journalist was an investigative reporting pioneer; Tarbell
exposed unfair practices of the Standard Oil Company
, leading to a U.S. Supreme Court decision to break its monopoly.
Who is Ida Tarbell and why is she important?
As the most famous woman journalist of her time, Tarbell
founded the American Magazine in 1906
. She authored biographies of several important businessmen and wrote a series of articles about an extremely controversial issue of her day, the tariff imposed on goods imported from foreign countries.
What did Ida Tarbell do to expose Standard Oil?
Tarbell brought the company’s shady dealings to light, and
the federal government sued Standard Oil
. The Supreme Court ordered Standard Oil’s breakup in 1911, but only after more narrowly defining illegal monopoly. Congress strengthened antitrust laws with the Federal Trade Commission Act and Clayton Antitrust Act.
What bad things did Ida Tarbell do?
Further Activities. Tarbell made a number of significant changes in her life in 1906. She had lost her father the previous year to
gastric cancer
. This combined with McClure’s erratic behaviour at the magazine contributed to her stress.
What a factory can teach a housewife summary?
When one set of people see that another set of people are taking from them that which they very much want to have, the intelligent procedure is to find the
reasons behind the shift
. The factory has no way of compelling girls and women to come to it. …
What company is Standard Oil today?
Standard Oil
Company and Trust does not still exist
. It was dissolved in 1911. However, some companies that were part of the trust persisted and, over time, merged with others and became part of such well-known companies as Exxon Mobil Corporation, BP PLC, and Chevron Corporation.
Who helped expose John Rockefeller?
Ida Tarbell
died in Connecticut in 1944 at the age of 86 and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Titusville. She will be remembered as the muckraker who took on John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller, despite her efforts, remained one of the richest men in the world until his death in 1937.
What did Lincoln Steffens expose?
He launched a series of articles in McClure’s, called “Tweed Days in St. Louis”, that would later be published together in a book titled The Shame of the Cities. He is remembered for investigating corruption in municipal government in American cities and for his leftist values.
Why are muckrakers called muckrakers?
Muckrakers were journalists and investigative reporters who wrote about corruption and injustice between 1890 and 1920. The term was coined by President Theodore Roosevelt, who thought they went too far. Muckrakers
came from all levels of society and risked their livelihoods and lives by their work
.
Why was Standard Oil bad?
In the words of antitrust scholar Dominic Armentano, The popular explanation of this case is that Standard Oil monopolized the oil industry,
destroyed rivals through the use of predatory price-cutting, raised prices to consumers and was punished by the Supreme Court
for these proven transgressions.
Who took on Standard Oil?
Muckraking journalism emerged at the end of the 19th century largely in response to the excesses of the Gilded Age, and Ida Tarbell was one of the most famous of the muckrakers.
Why was the Standard Oil Company bad?
The Department of Justice filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against Standard in 1909, contending that the
company restrained trade through its preferential deals with railroads
, its control of pipelines and by engaging in unfair practices like price-cutting to drive smaller competitors out of business.
Who were Ida Tarbell’s friends?
In 1891 Tarbell went to Paris and studied at Sorbonne University for three years. Her main areas of interest were the activities of
Anne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein and Marie-Jeanne Roland
, two women involved in the French Revolution. While in France she continued to contribute to American newspapers.
What methods did Ida Tarbell use to improve American life?
Ida Tarbell charged that
Standard Oil
was using illegal methods to hurt or destroy smaller oil companies. She investigated these illegal business dealings and wrote about them for a magazine called McClure’s. The reports she wrote led to legal cases that continued all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States.
How much is Standard Oil worth today?
If Standard Oil existed today in its single trust format, it would have been worth
over $1 trillion
making it the richest company in the world alongside Apple. And, John D. Rockefeller, if he were around today, would have had a net worth of around $400 billion, making him the richest man in the world.
