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This cartoon shows people of various countries and professions following the piper of big business, J.P. Morgan
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The Expedition Act Was Passed
February 11, 1903
If you've ever played the board game Monopoly, you know that the goal is to collect real estate or control railroads. If you have hotels on Park Place and Boardwalk, you're in good shape, but if you don't, then they're expensive places to land. During the late 1800s, life was becoming a bit like a Monopoly game. A person or company would merge businesses with related industries, making it possible to control production and prices. One example was J.P. Morgan's U.S. Steel Corporation. This company controlled all the stages of steel production, from iron-ore mining to steel manufacturing. When one company has such strong control over an industry, it makes it difficult for others to compete. This is called a monopoly. Having a monopoly makes it easier for the company to keep prices high and wages low because it has few competitors. What do you think was done about companies like this?
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