Commentary
Decades before wokeness reduced the practice of canceling famous Americans to a mindless ritual, progressive historians agreed to cast John D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil in the most unfavorable of lights. Few question the “official” condemnation of Rocky and Standard today. Thus, just a few days ago in this publication, I encountered this typical historical treatment:
“John D. Rockefeller was the undisputed oil king and during this time the New York World called his company, Standard Oil, ‘the most cruel, impudent, pitiless, and grasping monopoly that ever fastened upon a country.’ Standard Oil’s grip on oil lasted until 1906, when the U.S. government sued to break up the concern citing the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890.”…