The holding company structure proliferates across American industry during the 1920s, enabling unprecedented corporate consolidation while evading antitrust enforcement and state regulation. Delaware’s permissive incorporation laws, offering minimal oversight and maximum management discretion, …
Samuel InsullJ.P. MorganVan Sweringen BrothersDelaware Corporation Commissioncorporate-consolidationregulatory-capturefinancial-manipulationantitrust-evasionholding-companies
When Theodore Roosevelt left office on March 4, 1909, his administration had filed 44 antitrust lawsuits (18 civil and 26 criminal cases, resulting in 22 convictions and 22 acquittals) against major corporations including Northern Securities, Standard Oil, American Tobacco, the Beef Trust, and Du …
Theodore RooseveltWilliam Howard TaftJ.P. MorganU.S. Department of JusticeInterstate Commerce Commissionantitrustcorporate-powerprogressive-eraregulatory-enforcementpresidential-legacy
On the morning of Saturday, November 2, 1907, during the Panic of 1907 financial crisis, J.P. Morgan convened a meeting at his library proposing that U.S. Steel—which already controlled 60% of the steel market—purchase stock in the insolvent brokerage firm Moore & Schley, which had borrowed …
Theodore RooseveltJ.P. MorganElbert H. GaryHenry Clay FrickU.S. Steel Corporation+2 moreantitrustcorporate-powerfinancial-crisisprogressive-eraregulatory-capture
On March 14, 1904, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Northern Securities Company violated the Sherman Antitrust Act and ordered the railroad holding company dissolved. The decision affirmed the April 9, 1903 federal circuit court ruling against the company formed by J.P. Morgan, James J. …
U.S. Supreme CourtTheodore RooseveltJ.P. MorganJames J. HillEdward H. Harriman+1 moreantitrustcorporate-powerregulatory-enforcementsupreme-courtprogressive-era
On October 3, 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt convened an unprecedented conference in Washington bringing together representatives of government, labor, and management to resolve the anthracite coal strike that threatened to leave Americans without heating fuel for the approaching winter. …
On February 19, 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt’s Department of Justice announced plans to file an antitrust suit against the Northern Securities Company, a railroad holding company formed in November 1901 by J.P. Morgan, James J. Hill, and Edward H. Harriman to control the Great Northern …
Theodore RooseveltAttorney General Philander KnoxJ.P. MorganJames J. HillEdward H. Harriman+1 moreantitrustcorporate-powerregulatory-enforcementprogressive-erarailroad-regulation
In early 1901, J.P. Morgan, the country’s most powerful banker, purchased Andrew Carnegie’s Carnegie Steel Corporation for $500 million and merged it with nine other steel companies to form the United States Steel Corporation—the world’s largest corporation and first billion-dollar …
Andrew CarnegieJ.P. MorganU.S. Steel CorporationCarnegie Steel Corporationmonopoly-powercorporate-consolidationvertical-integrationmarket-dominancefinancial-empire
In 1901, J.P. Morgan orchestrated the creation of the Northern Securities Company, a $400 million holding company that gave him control over approximately one-third of the country’s railways. The consolidation emerged from a fierce competition between James J. Hill, head of the Great Northern …
J.P. MorganJames J. HillEdward H. HarrimanNorthern Securities CompanyGreat Northern Railroad+1 moremonopoly-powerfinancial-consolidationcorporate-mergerrailroad-controlmarket-manipulation
The United States Steel Corporation is incorporated with authorized capitalization of $1.4 billion, becoming the first billion-dollar corporation in history and controlling 60% of the nation’s primary steel capacity. Financier J.P. Morgan orchestrates the massive consolidation, fusing together …
J.P. MorganAndrew CarnegieCharles SchwabElbert GaryJohn D. Rockefellergilded-agemonopoly-powercorporate-consolidationfinancial-powermerger-wave
On February 25, 1901, J.P. Morgan incorporated the United States Steel Corporation with an authorized capitalization of $1.4 billion, creating the first billion-dollar corporation in history by purchasing Andrew Carnegie’s steel empire for approximately $480 million and consolidating it with …
By 1895, following the Panic of 1893 that left one-third of American railroad mileage in receivership, J.P. Morgan had systematically reorganized the nation’s major railroads through a process known as ‘Morganization,’ consolidating competing lines into regional monopolies under …
J.P. MorganJ.P. Morgan & CompanySouthern RailwayErie RailroadNorthern Pacific Railroadbanking-consolidationrailroad-consolidationcorporate-powergilded-agefinancial-control
In 1885, J.P. Morgan invited leading railroad executives to a meeting aboard his yacht to address what he perceived as “ruinous competition” in the railroad industry. Morgan used the gathering to convince railroad magnates controlling major lines including the New York Central and …
J.P. MorganNew York Central RailroadPennsylvania RailroadRailroad Executivesprice-fixingmarket-manipulationfinancial-coercioncorporate-consolidationanti-competitive-practices