Chapter 18: The Machine Age, 1877-1920





The following activities accompany the Legacy for a People and a Nation on "Rockefeller and Standard Oil" in Chapter 18. Refer to page 515 of Norton, A People and a Nation, Sixth Edition for the complete text of this Legacy. There are three parts to this web page: Questions to Consider, Investigation, and Further Exploration.




Questions to Consider
1. What are the responsibilities of wealthy people and groups in a democracy?

2. Has the American government's use of trustbusting been positive for the American economy? For American society? What has been the role of journalists in trustbusting?

3. If we adjust for inflation, who had/has more wealth: John D. Rockefeller or Bill Gates?

4. How has the philanthropy of Bill Gates compared to that of John D. Rockefeller?

5. What accounts for the tremendous wealth of certain individuals: management skills, luck, beneficial ties to government, or individual ingenuity?


Investigation
If you put an fiscally conservative economist and a liberal social historian together to evaluate the influence of Rockefeller and Standard Oil, how might their perspectives differ? The sites below will help you develop ideas for your debate:

Professor Keith T. Poole at Carnegie Mellon University provides a detailed history of John D. Rockefeller's life. Professor Poole includes detailed information on the economic aspects of Standard Oil and on Mr. Rockefeller as a philanthropist.

Also visit this Ida Tarbell site with a link to her famous 1904 book The History of the Standard Oil Company.




Further Exploration
1. Rockefeller University offers a sketch of John D. Rockefeller and his philanthropy.

2. For a discussion of Rockefeller as a robber baron, with comparison drawn to Bill Gates, read, The Ghost of John D. Rockefeller This site also explains economist John McGee's criticism of the allegations against Rockefeller for price-fixing.

3. A Detroit News editorial compares and contrasts Bill Gates and John D. Rockefeller.