John D. Rockefeller: Oil Titan

John D. Rockefeller: Oil Titan

by Emily Felton

​John D. Rockefeller

• ​born 1839 in upstate New York

• ​moved to Cleveland, Ohio in 1853

• ​attended high school briefly before dropping out

• ​studied bookkeeping

• ​1855: worked for a firm that bought, sold, and shipped grain, oil, and other goods

• ​1863: used personal funds to invest in a Cleveland oil refinery, along with some business partners

Multiple Choice

Where did John D. Rockefeller move to after living in New York? This is where he attended high school and would eventually have his oil refinery.

• Columbus,

• Cleveland, Ohio

• Nashville, Tennesee

• Asheville, North Carolina

​Standard Oil

• ​used money to buy out business partners in oil refinery business

• ​oil refinery = largest in Cleveland

• ​Kerosene = considered economic staple --> formation of Standard Oil Company

• ​gained monopoly --> Rockefeller bought out oil refineries to crush competition in the market

As The New York Times reported in 1937: “He was accused of crushing out competition, getting rich on rebates from railroads, bribing men to spy on competing companies, of making secret agreements, of coercing rivals to join the Standard Oil Company under threat of being forced out of business, building up enormous fortunes on the ruins of other men, and so on.”​

Multiple Choice

What was the product that became an "economic staple" in people's homes during Rockefeller's time?

• Gasoline

• Oil

• Kerosene

• Coal

Multiple Choice

John D. Rockefeller created this by buying up all of the oil refineries to squeeze the competition out of the market.

• Hostile Takeover

• Oil Refinery

• Stock Market

• Monopoly

​The fall of Standard Oil...

• 1890: Congress passes the Sherman Antitrust Act

• ​1892: U.S. Supreme Court dissolved the Standard Oil Trust in Ohio

• ​businesses within Standard Oil would move to Standard Oil in New Jersey

• ​1911: Congress ruled that Standard Oil violated antitrust laws

• Standard Oil was completely dismantled and broken up into 30 different companies

Multiple Choice

Who passed the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890?

• U. S. Supreme Court

• President Roosevelt

• U. S. Congress

• The Ohio State Legislature

Multiple Choice

In 1911, Congress ruled that Standard Oil Company had violated the antitrust laws. What happened to Standard Oil after that?

• They moved to a different state again.

• They were dismantled.

• They changed the name of their company.

• They sued Congress for their ruling.

Multiple Choice

How many different companies was Standard Oil broken up into once Congress dismantled them?

• 40

• 20

• 10

• 30

​Rockefeller gives back

​At the end of his life, John D. Rockefeller would start to donate some of his earning to various educational, religious, and scientific causes. He would start the Rockefeller Foundation, and helped to start up the University of Chicago. His wife, Laura Celestia "Cettie" Spelman, would become the namesake of Spelman University, an HBCU for women in Atlanta, Georgia. He remained temperate his entire life, spending a lot of time in his later life playing golf and relaxing in Florida.