Question

ida tarbell and standard oil ida tarbell was a journalist in the early 1900s. she battled one of the biggest companies in the united states: john d. rockefellers standard oil company. tarbells writing exposed the nitty - gritty details of standard oils unfair business practices. they showed that rockefeller had forced all his competitors out of business, and as a result, he controlled 95 percent of the oil in the united states. because of this, rockefeller could set prices and customers would just have to pay whatever he asked since they couldnt buy oil elsewhere. tarbells work was wildly popular amongst her readers and what is the central idea of the passage? a ida tarbell was a journalist who investigated large companies. b ida tarbells journalism broke up the unfair business practices of standard oil. c standard oil was run by john d. rockefeller, who practiced business unfairly. d standard oil was the largest oil producer in the united states.

Explanation:

The passage focuses on Ida Tarbell's journalism which exposed Standard Oil's unfair business practices. Option A only mentions investigating large - companies without the key aspect of exposing unfair practices. Option C just talks about Standard Oil and Rockefeller's unfairness without emphasizing Tarbell's role. Option D only states Standard Oil's size, not the main point of Tarbell's work. Option B captures the essence of the passage that Tarbell's journalism broke up the unfair business practices of Standard Oil.

Answer:

B. Ida Tarbell's journalism broke up the unfair business practices of Standard Oil.