Monopolies During the Progressive Era
Saanvi Kunisetty
Monopolies were created by industrialists who collaborated to remove any opposing competition, and created private corporate boards which could control company groups. After the Civil War, John D. Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil company, started buying other companies, and got involved in contentious business practices. He was soon behind not just the majority of the nation’s oil, but petroleum products as well. He later shifted gears to steel, but was called out for his monopoly in these industries, and told to put a stop to it. Andrew Carnegie started out in the telegraph and railroad industry, and began investing and reinvesting in related industries as well. He broadened his influence to steel and oil, and post-Civil War, he ended up making a fortune out of his steel empire. Monopolizing these industries, he soon became known as the “richest man in the universe.” It only started with a small ferry business, but Cornelius Vanderbilt monopolized ferry lines around the city with his secret partnership with the rival company. He expanded the railroad industry as well, purchasing plenty of land in New York, involving ocean liners, and investing in several railroad companies.
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