Ida Tarbell

Ida Tarbell (1857–1944) was an American investigative journalist and biographer whose 1902–1904 series on Standard Oil exposed its business practices and helped build support for antitrust action.

The History of the Standard Oil Company: Ida Tarbell’s 1902–1904 magazine series, later published as a book, investigating Standard Oil’s rise and business practices. This is Tarbell’s best-known investigation and the work that made her nationally prominent.
Investigative journalism: Journalism that systematically uncovers facts about matters of public concern through original research and verification. Tarbell’s Standard Oil series became a prominent model of sustained corporate investigation.
S. S. McClure: An Irish-born American publisher who founded McClure’s Magazine and promoted investigative journalism and literary writing. McClure recruited Tarbell and supported the magazine series that established her reputation.
Oil City, Pennsylvania: A city in northwestern Pennsylvania that grew around the nineteenth-century petroleum industry. Tarbell spent part of her childhood in the oil region near this center of early production.
Progressive Era: A period of American political and social reform, roughly from the 1890s to the 1920s. Tarbell’s reporting became part of the era’s campaigns against corporate abuses and political corruption.
Standard Oil: An American oil company and corporate trust that dominated petroleum refining and distribution in the late nineteenth century. Tarbell examined how the company used rebates, acquisitions, and other practices to consolidate control.
Public records: Documents created or maintained by government bodies that are available for public inspection under applicable laws. Tarbell used documentary evidence, including legal and business records, to substantiate her account.
Lincoln Steffens: An American journalist known for investigating municipal corruption in his book The Shame of the Cities. Steffens worked alongside Tarbell in the reform-minded journalism associated with McClure’s.
Pennsylvania oil rush: The rapid expansion of petroleum drilling and refining in Pennsylvania after the 1859 Drake well discovery. The boom transformed the landscape and economy Tarbell knew from childhood.
Sherman Antitrust Act: A 1890 United States federal law prohibiting certain restraints of trade and monopolization. The law provided the legal basis for the federal case that ultimately dissolved Standard Oil.

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