Ida Tarbell Research Paper

Ida M. Tarbell: A Woman Unafraid
Investigative journalism has helped to shape society for more than 100 years, fulfilling the “watchdog” role, which is arguably, the most important service journalists provide. In its early days, the common term was “muckraking”, coined by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. Muckraking involved dedicated research into a subject, usually to expose corruption, unfair and cruel conditions, and illegal business practices. Ida M. Tarbell helped usher in the Progressive Era with her famous series “The History of the Standard Oil Company”, published in 1904. The impact she and other muckrakers have made has been invaluable in the illumination and eradication of injustices in society.
Born in Erie County, Pennsylvania in
1857, Ida Minerva Tarbell saw first-hand, the effects of unfair and shady dealings by John D. Rockefeller, Sr., and his Standard Oil Company. Her father, Franklin Tarbell, moved the family to Titusville in 1860, where he later became an oil producer and refiner. When she was 14 years old, Tarbell witnessed the monopolizing buy-out of almost all oil competition by Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company. “In one swoop, he bought out most of the Cleveland refiners and positioned himself for national control of the oil industry. His victory was so complete that opponents labeled it the "Cleveland Massacre".” (Bryan) This buyout left remaining oil companies unable to compete and forced them out of business. The effects of this business move instilled in her a strong sense of injustice that would come to serve as motivation to tackle the nation’s largest oil tycoon later in life. “It was all pretty hazy, to be sure, but it still was well, at 15, to have one definite plan based on things seen and heard, ready for a future platform of social and economic justice if I should ever awake to my need of one” (Tarbell) In 1876, Ida Tarbell became the only woman to enroll at Allegheny College.
She graduated in 1880 and received an M. A. degree in 1883. Her first endeavor was as an instructor at Poland Union Seminary in Poland, Ohio. “Her main desire was to work as a writer and after two years teaching she began working for Theodore Flood, editor of The Chautauquan. Flood quickly realized her talent and in 1886 she was appointed managing editor. A job she did for the next eight years.” (Simkin) In 1891, Tarbell took her savings and moved to Paris, France to study at Sorbonne University for three years. She intended to write the biography of Madame Marie-Jean Roland, an influential woman of the French Revolution. “Tarbell studied Madame Roland to confirm her view that women brought moderation and compassion to politics. After completing her research, she reluctantly concluded that Madame Roland had behaved during the French Revolution much as men had.” (Lowrie) There she met Samuel McClure, who in June of 1893 created McClure’s Magazine. McClure’s was known as an American literary and political magazine. “Selling at the low price of 15 cents, this illustrated magazine published the work of leading popular writers such as Rudyard Kipling, Robert Louis Stevenson and Arthur Conan Doyle.” (Simkin) McClure commissioned Tarbell to write a historical piece on Napoleon Bonaparte. This was so well received, she was asked to stay on as a staff writer. She went on to write a 20-part series for the
publication, on Abraham Lincoln. “It doubled the magazine’s circulation, made her a leading authority on the early life of the former president, and landed her a book deal.” (King) In 1900, Ida Tarbell began research for her most famous work, The History of the Standard Oil Company.
“Ironically, Tarbell began her research by interviewing one of her father’s former fellow independents back in Pennsylvania—Henry H. Rogers. After the Cleveland Massacre, Rogers spent 25 years working alongside Rockefeller, building Standard Oil into one of the first and largest multinational corporations in the world. Rogers, it seems, may have been under the impression, after the McClure’s series on Lincoln, that Tarbell was writing a flattering piece on him; he reached out to her through his good friend Mark Twain. Meeting her in his home, Rogers was remarkably candid in some regards, even going to far as to provide her with internal documents and explaining the use of drawbacks in Standard Oil’s history.” (King)
She met with several people involved with the company during the oil wars of her youth, but what was most impressive was her extensive, thorough, and broad research. “For almost two years, she painstakingly looked through volumes of public records, including court testimony, state and federal reports and newspaper coverage.” (PBS) The reward for her arduous labor was a solid, evidence-based understanding of Rockefeller’s business methods. Tarbell uncovered a secret agreement between a few large oil refiners and railroads. Under the name The South Improvement Company, the alliance allowed the large oil companies to pay less for shipping their product, and the railroads to make up the cost on the small refineries. “According to the pact, the railroads would raise their rates, but would agree to pay rebates to Rockefeller and other large refiners, thus securing their steady business. In addition, the latter were to receive the proceeds of the "drawbacks" levied on nonmembers, who as a result would end up paying much higher prices for their shipments of oil.” (PBS)

Ida Tarbell’s exposure of Standard Oil’s monopolistic practices sparked public outrage.
The work is credited with the U.S Supreme Court Ruling that found the company to be in violation of the laws of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. This judgement effectively forced the break-up of Standard Oil. Without people like Ida, there is no one to bring to light injustices against the people. Investigative journalism patrols society, much like a junkyard dog, waiting to pounce on any threat to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that may be lurking within our various social constructs. The freedom of journalists to hunt down and expose corruption is inherent to the survival of any democratic
society.

Works Cited
Bryan, Dan. Americanhistoryusa.com. 15 April 2012. .
King, Gilbert. Smithsonianmah.com "The Woman Who Took on the Tycoon". 5 July 2012.
Lowrie, Arthur L. Allegheny.edu "Ida M. Tarbell: Investigative Journalist Par Excellence. 1997. http://sites.allegheny.edu/tarbell/briefbio/.
PBS. pbs.org "Biography: Ida Tarbell". n.d. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/rockefellers-tarbell/.
—. pbs.org "General Article: The Cleveland Massacre". n.d. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/rockefellers-south/.
Piascik, Andy. Connecticuthistory.org "The Woman Who Took on Standard Oil". n.d. https://connecticuthistory.org/ida-tarbell-the-woman-who-took-on-standard-oil/.
Simkin, John. Sparticus-Educational: Ida Tarbell. April 2013.
Tarbell, Ida M. All in the Day's Work. McMillan Company, 1939.