1. Do Now: Name as many oil/gas companies as you can.
Objective: To examine the causes and effects of the Sherman Anti-trust Act.
Do Now: Name as many oil/gas companies as you can.
Helpful Hints:
After the class completes the Do Now activity, list all of the companies they thought of on the board.
Q: Ask, “Why is it good for consumers that there are so many oil companies?”
A: Competition helps keep prices down.
Q: Ask, “What could all of these companies do in order to make as much money as possible if they were controlled by the same board of directors?”
A: Raise prices high, since there is a lack of competition.
Tell the class that, together, they serve as the board of directors of all of the listed oil companies, an umbrella organization we will call, “Standard Oil”.
Have one student set aside to serve as president of their own, independent, oil company. Have him or her create a company name. (I’ll use “Generic Oil”.)
Q: Ask, “How can Generic Oil compete against a corporation as large as Standard Oil?”
A: By lowering prices to attract business.
Q: Ask, “What can Standard Oil do to drive Generic Oil out of business?”
A: Lower their prices to the point that they are taking a loss. Unable to compete, Generic Oil goes out of business. After crushing the competition, Standard Oil again raises its prices.
Sen. John Sherman
John D. Rockefeller
J. Pierpont Morgan

2. Major Global Oil Companies
(16 Chevron stations are branded as "Standard" to protect Chevron's trademark of "Standard Oil" )
Chevron merged with Standard Oil but then was not allowed to use the name standard oil except in Cali after the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. They did another merger and were broken up so they sold some refineries to Sunoco.
Trust – an industry controlled by a single board of directors

3. Fewer Control More
Mergers – one corporation buys out the stock of another
Monopoly = buy out all competitors/control wages and prices
Holding company – buy out stocks of other companies
J.P. Morgan bought Carnegie Steel
John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company
Trusts = competing companies join -> form one large corporation but all members earn money from dividends on their stocks
90% of the oil industry (1880)
Pay extremely low wages, reduce competition by selling oil at a low price, then he increased the price of oil
“Robber baron”
Gave away $500 million

4. John D. Rockefeller: Oil, Money, and Power (4:08)
Standard Oil Trust
· John D. Rockefeller formed the Standard Oil trust in 1890.
John D. Rockefeller: Oil, Money, and Power (4:08)

5. · The Standard Oil trust ended competition, forming a monopoly.
· The Sherman Antitrust Act was passed in 1890, banning the formation of trusts and monopolies.

6. Why would Americans criticize his tactics?
Political cartoon showing a Standard Oil tank as an octopus with many tentacles wrapped around the steel, copper, and shipping industries, as well as a state house, the U.S. Capitol, and one tentacle reaching for the White House.

7. Who has the ability to influence the Senate?
Why is this important?

8. How does the cartoonist
depict trusts?

9. “The Modern Buccaneers”
How does the cartoonist view monopolies? What is the federal government’s response?
“The Modern Buccaneers”

10. This Harper's Weekly cartoon by W. A
This Harper's Weekly cartoon by W. A. Rogers portrays the rise of the large business corporation ("monopoly") as an illicit enterprise (a pirate ship) which menaces economic competition, and depicts the response of the federal government as woefully inadequate (Uncle Sam shooting a toy cannon).

11. “Congress—Who’s In It and Who Owns It”; cartoon by Jacob Burck reflecting the opinion that _______interests were able to maneuver the ______________.

12. “Congress—Who’s In It and Who Owns It”; cartoon by Jacob Burck reflecting the opinion that big money interests were able to maneuver the politicians.

13. J.P. Morgan – Carnegie Steel (2:35)
The Role of Banks
J.P. Morgan – Carnegie Steel (2:35)
· J. Pierpont Morgan used profits earned as a banker to purchase other major corporations.
· By 1898, Morgan controlled most of the major rail lines in America.
· By 1901, Morgan became head of the U.S. Steel Company, which became the first U.S. company to be worth over $1 billion.

14. What is the message of this cartoon?

15. Interlocking director – An individual who serves as a director of two or more corporations. If the corporations are competitors, interlocking directorates generally violate antitrust laws.

16. What were the causes and effects of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act?

17. Assignment
Write a paragraph with at least four sentences explaining the significance of the Sherman Antitrust Act.