Market Structures and Competition Assignment (Characteristics of Standard Oil)
According to this passage, what was Roosevelt's real reason for breaking up Standard Oil?
He feared the control Standard Oil had in the market.
According to the article, which of the following characteristics fit Standard Oil? Check all that apply.
It practiced ruthless business techniques. It dominated the oil market. It controlled the transportation of oil.
Think about Standard Oil's business practices. In three to four sentences, explain why there was such a strong negative feeling toward the Standard Oil monopoly.
Standard Oil was taking advantage of incentives that were being given to growing businesses at the time. The company was also ensuring that competition could not continue by lowering prices so much that other producers could not continue to make a profit. With little competition remaining in the market, consumers would be forced to pay the prices set by Standard Oil.
Think about what happened to Standard Oil. Write a paragraph in which you explain whether or not you agree with the actions taken by the government to interfere with the growth of Standard Oil as a monopoly.
The United States government was correct in interfering with the growth of Standard Oil. Not only was the company taking advantage of existing situations, but eventually it would have controlled the oil market entirely. If Standard Oil was able to gain control of the market for a long period of time, consumers could have had to pay extremely high prices for the oil that they needed, limiting their purchase of other goods. OR you could choose!! The United States government should not have interfered with the growth of Standard Oil. Because the company had managed to reduce production costs, it was able to offer very low prices to consumers. This benefited many Americans. Without the company's production benefits, citizens were not able to take advantage of this infrastructure.
Which best summarizes Ida Tarbell's assessment of Standard Oil?
The company was ruthless in its drive to eliminate competition.
