The early 1900s were a time of growth and expansion into uncharted territory for business, but with this augmentation came great corruption. Larger companies were able to grow and starve out smaller businesses through immoral methods, creating monopolies and leaving the consumer at their mercy. A few dedicated journalists, however, took it upon themselves to expose what was really happening to the American people, and one of these such people was Ida Tarbell.

On November 5th, 1857, Ida Minerva Tarbell, born in Hatch Hollow, a town in northwestern Pennsylvania. She was the oldest of four children: two daughters and two sons born to Esther McCullough and Frank Tarbell. The business of Ida's father was the building of oil storage tanks, and he later went on to become an oil producer and refiner. During Ida's teenage years, however, something happened which greatly influenced her: the Southern Improvement Company, a secret alliance between the railroads and a small group of refiners. The deal involved railroads raising their rates but offering rebates to John D. Rockefeller & other large refiners, who would profit from "drawbacks" imposed upon other, smaller refiners. This was devastating to these small area refiners, and Ida and her family never forgot.

Ida Tarbell graduated from Allegheny College, the only woman in the class of 1880. She became fascinated by biology while studying there, and moved to Ohio after graduating to teach science, but retired after two years. Upon returning to Pennsylvania she met the editor of "The Chautauquan," a small magazine, and she became more and more interested in writing and research. The job ended badly, however, and at 34 she sailed with two female friends to Paris to begin a biography on Madame Roland, leader of an influential salon during the French Revolution. Originally believing that Madame Roland was a good example of a woman's ability to bring compassion and moderation to politics, she was disappointed to find that Roland had behaved much as men had at the time.

While overseas, Ida worked in a soup kitchen and wrote for numerous popular magazines, catching the attention of Samuel McClure. She was hired in 1894 as an editor for his magazine, "McClure's," and soon became its most successful writer. She wrote another biography, this one on Napoleon; however, she soon began to take notice of modern events and issues. Monopolistic trusts were particularly disturbing to her, so she set out to publish in "McClure's" articles about the methods of Standard Oil. Out of fear of Rockefeller, Ida's father warned against writing these stories, but nevertheless she spent nearly two years researching and painstakingly digging up facts about Rockefeller and his company. Her writing displayed great eloquence, acknowledging Rockefeller's brilliance while condemning unethical practices, both by he and by other capitalist businessmen. Her popular series, "The History of the Standard Oil Company," ended as a nineteen-part series, published from November 1902 to October 1904. She also published a caustic character study of Rockefeller himself. Afterwards she continued writing and lecturing.

Probably the most curious fact about Ida Tarbell is her anti-feminist attitude. She opposed the women's suffrage movement, and her beliefs about women's roles in society and how they ought to behave seemingly contradicted her own lifestyle. She felt women should be selfless and humble, never ambitious, and that they could never understand things men could, or do certain things as well. Ida avoided emotional relationships all her life, especially with men, and vowed never to marry, for it would stand in the way of her career. She also disfavored the label "muckraker," despite the fact that it was and still is undeniably associated with her for her work related to Rockefeller. Perhaps not surprisingly, considering her attitude towards the capabilities of her gender, she declined a chance to be the first woman on President Wilson's Tariff Commission, and did not write her autobiography until the age of 80. Ida Tarbell died of pneumonia on January 6th, 1944, at the age of 86 in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Ida Tarbell was a woman of contradictions and a powerful writer. Not only did she carry out the monumental task of bringing to light corrupt businessmen, but she continued to write and make important social statements for a long time. Considering her achievements, her outlook on females is quite bizarre and obviously disproved by her own work. This does not lessen the value of her work, however, which changed the face of America and carries meaning to this very day.