History of ida tarbell
Jacob riis!
Ida Tarbell
(1857-1944)
Who Was Ida Tarbell?
Ida Tarbell was an American journalist born on November 5, 1857, in Erie County, Pennsylvania.
History of ida tarbell
She was the only woman in her graduating class at Allegheny College in 1880. The McClure’s magazine journalist was an investigative reporting pioneer; Tarbell exposed unfair practices of the Standard Oil Company, leading to a U.S.
Supreme Court decision to break its monopoly.
Early Life
Ida Minerva Tarbell was born on November 5, 1857, in the oil-rich region of northwestern Pennsylvania. Her father was an oil producer and refiner whose livelihood — like many others in the area — was negatively impacted by an 1872 price-fixing scheme concocted by the Pennsylvania Railroad and John D.
Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company, who were operating under the guise of the South Improvement Company. As a result of their tactics, many of the smaller producers were forced to sell to Standard, and most of those who didn’t — including Tarbell’s father