STANDARD OIL | ANTITRUST AND OIL MONOPOLY
In a scandal that changed the American economy, Standard Oil, once the largest oil refinery in the world, was found guilty of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. The Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of the company founded by John D. Rockefeller in 1911 for acting “in restraint of trade”.
Rockefeller resorted to shrewd tactics to gain a monopoly over the oil industry by eliminating his competitors, creating shortages, setting up price wars between Standard Oil subsidiaries and using his connections with railroad companies to stop shipments.
