Petroleum Industry in the USA, the Case of the Standard OilTrust and the Antitrust Campaign (1859-1914)

Abstract

The purpose of this doctoral dissertation is to shed light on the national craze for petroleum that the USA witnessed during the second half of the 19th century as scientists advanced in the discovery of its potential uses, which led to the emergence of the petroleum industry. The emerging industry organized itself gradually through the creation of small companies that merged to create corporations, and later amalgamated into petroleum trusts. The formation of trusts was not seen with a good eye either by the American people or certain officials. By the late 19th century, abuses of the trust technique to crush competition and create monopolies in numerous industries had become so great that the public demanded something be done about the trusts. As a result, the U.S. Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890 to be used to control the trusts and later to dismantle them during the 1910s. Several questions are raised to set off issues related to the development and role of petroleum in the making of the American civilisation such as: How did petroleum industry emerge and develop in the USA? What was its impact on the development of American industrial society? How did the succeeding American governments regulate the petroleum industry? Why was the Standard Oil Trust created, and why was it dismantled?