The Age Of Synergy: Second Industrial Revolution

By 1882 The Standard Oil Company had become the most efficient corporation, producing the highest quality products as well as charging the lowest prices. Rockefeller was philanthropic in his endeavors, incorporating his acquired companies into the ever enlarging Standard Oil. The Standard Oil Company helped to strengthen the American economy, created jobs, and was one of the leaders in making the United States the industrial giant that it is today.

During the Gilded Age, the United States saw an increase in the power of big businesses, many of which monopolized their industries. This time period, although it appeared successful from the outside, was filled with governmental corruption. Manipulated by the robber barons of the Gilded Age, the United States government fell victim to their control. Contrary to this downfall, the nation celebrated much success in the numerous life-changing inventions attributed to this era. With the invention of the internal combustion engine, among others, there also came a major increase in the demand for oil. Entering the flourishing oil business in 1870, John D. Rockefeller created the Standard Oil Company, which later dominated the entire oil industry. Although he had years filled with success in the business, Rockefeller faced a disastrous court case that dissolved his company and years of his hard work. Despite this catastrophic event, Rockefeller found other ways to contribute his knowledge and hard-work by making innumerable philanthropic donations. After many years and countless efforts, John D. Rockefeller had one of the most outstanding and positive influences on the United States through his work in the oil industry and his philanthropic actions.

The industrial revolution began in the 17th century and made significant change in the world. An era was over and the new one was beginning. The revolution has advantages and disadvantages. Rising of living standards, improving of health, lifetime and trade system are its advantages. On the other hand, manufacturing has caused major problems such as deforestation, excessive use of fossil fuel sources, irresponsible industrialisation and agricultural development. These changes have increased world’s atmospheric concentration of water vapour, CO2, CH4 and other gases (Stocker, 2013). These gases capture part of energy receiving from sun and trap this heat inside atmosphere that causes rising temperatures on the earth’s surface. Naturally, for continuation of life these gases are necessary, but result of the human events these gases has produced more than plants and environment need (Robins, 2016). Also, we call them Green Houses Gases because they have the similar effect like the ‘greenhouses’ utilised to increase condition of vegetables.

America had a huge industrial revolution in the late 1800”s. Many changes happened to our great nation, which factored into this. The evidence clearly shows that advancements in new technology, a large wave of immigrants into our country and new views of our government, helped to promote America’s huge industrial growth from the period of 1860-1900.

John D. Rockefeller started the United States’ first monopoly. Rockefeller is recorded as the seventh wealthiest person to ever live on Earth. Rockefeller used his huge amount of money to donate to many various philanthropic causes. He started his oil company in 1870 buying out many other competitors along the way. By 1882, Rockefeller had a monopoly and had control over 90% of the United States’ oil refineries.

In a move that would transform the American economy, Rockefeller set out to replace a world of independent oilmen with a giant company controlled by him. In l870, begging bankers for more loans, he formed Standard Oil of Ohio. The next year, he quietly put what he called "our plan" -- his campaign to dominate the volatile oil industry - into devastating effect. Rockefeller knew that the refiner with the lowest transportation cost could bring rivals to their knees. He entered into a secret alliance with the railroads called the South Improvement Company. In exchange for large, regular shipments, Rockefeller and his allies secured transport rates far

The Industrial Revolution is the name given to the movement in which machines changed people's way of life as well as their methods of manufacturer. It brought three important changes: inventions of machines that simplify and speed up the work of hand tools, use of steam (and other power) versus human power, adoption of a factory system. Workers were brought together under one roof and were supplied machines. The Industrial Revolution began throughout the world relatively during the same time period, and although it had its beginning in remote times, it is still continuing in some places.

John Davison Rockefeller had a struggling life growing up, and that wouldn’t let him stop from achieving great things in life. Rockefeller was born in Richford, New York. When he was a boy his father was rarely at home because his father actually worked in the circus and he stole money from his family, so his family was poor most of his childhood. So Rockefeller took the responsibility of making the family's income. Oil became a huge industry and people from everywhere began to collect it, but Rockefeller saw something no one else did, he thought to refine it because crude oil was useless. In 1862 Rockefeller and several partners bought a refinery in Cleveland, Ohio. He wanted to expand it so he did and called it Standard Oil and it was soon the biggest oil refinery in the country. His main product he produced was kerosene, and it lit virtually every home. Rockefeller soon bought out many firms and Standard Oil became an enormous company. At the age of fifty-eight Rockefeller retired and began to give away

By the time of the Civil War, the technologies upon which the First Industrial Revolution was based were established in the United States. In the years following the war, the nation's industrial energies were focused on completing the railroad and telegraph networks of the North, rebuilding those of the South, and expanding those of the West. Once the devastating depression of the 1870’s depleted, the stage was set for the Second Industrial Revolution.

Standard Oil’s sales continued to increase, and the company began to acquire smaller companies to continue their rapid growth. When Rockefeller would acquire smaller companies, he would completely shut down the ones he believed were inefficient and keep the ones that he thought he could bring up to his caliber of quality. Unfortunately for the workers from the companies that were shut down, they were put out of work. Rockefeller also began to warehouse oil products in order to have more control over the oil market by having the ability to possess large amounts of oil. Rockefeller had the ability to send in oil, or hold the oil in the warehouses which could cause a riff in the oil market. In order to acquire more business from customers Rockefeller struck a deal with Lake Shore Railroad, to give Standard Oil a 71% discount in return for a promise to ship at least 60 carloads of oil daily and to handle the loading and unloading. This move cut the throats of smaller refineries because they could not produce enough oil fast enough to be able to be offered discounts by railroad companies like Rockefeller did. These deals that Rockefeller had in place allowed

John Davison Rockefeller was the founder of Standard Oil Company in 1870 and ran it until he retired in 1897. Standard Oil gained almost complete control over the oil refining market in the United States by underselling its competitors. Rockefeller and his associates owned dozens of corporations operating in just one state.

John D. Rockefeller also started at humble beginnings. By taking risks and investing he found himself engulfed in the rapidly expanding oil industry. Not yet in the business directly he started his own company, The Standard Oil Company of Cleveland. Rockefeller's stake in the oil industry increased as the industry itself expanded caused by the rapidly spreading use of kerosene. The Standard Oil eventually, in a few years, purchased and controlled almost all the refining firms in Cleveland, plus two refineries

The Standard Oil Trust of Ohio was and American oil producing, refining, and transporting company. It was founded in 1863 by John D. Rockefeller and lasted until 1911. During 1868, Rockefeller expanded the oil company to become the largest oil refining company in the world. In 1870, the company was renamed Standard Oil Company. After it was renamed, Rockefeller purchased most of the oil companies that were currently in business to make one large company.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary the term ‘Industrial Revolution’ is defined as “the rapid development of industry that occurred in the late 18th and 19th centuries, brought about by the introduction of machinery…characterised by the use of steam power, growth of factories, and the mass production of manufactured goods.” . However, although this may be a commonly shared view of this period, the concept of the Industrial Revolution is widely debated amongst various historians. Whilst many feel the term well describes the changes taking place within industry, trading and the new energy being used at the time, some historians find the concept problematic due to its implication that the changes of the time happened at a ‘revolutionary’ pace whereas it instead took 150 years for the transition to be fully implemented. Similarly, other historians find difficulties with the term and come to question; was the revolution solely down to an industrial change or was this period in history due to other changes within Britain which then impacted and caused the Industrial Revolution? As the two main bases of the concepts term ‘industrial’ and ‘revolution’ can be questioned, it can be argued that the ‘Industrial Revolution’ is not the most helpful concept to account for the changes taking place between the mid-eighteenth and early nineteenth century, only to a certain point as it fails to account for other characteristics and changes of the period.

The second industrial revolution was the change of our world even though many people moved from rural homes into cities because they can't get accepted in jobs and it started in the 1870-1944 after the civil war because “ during this time, many advances in technology and factories made it easier and quicker for farmers and manufactures to produce more goods and products to be sold.”