The Breakup of Big Oil | Rise of Rockefeller | 1
American Scandal
Audible
4.5 • 19.6K Ratings
🗓️ 11 August 2020
⏱️ 41 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
John D. Rockefeller is a poor boy with a dream. He's going to become a businessman. And he's going to be wildly rich. Soon, he stumbles on the product that will seal his fate: oil. Thick, crude oil is gushing from the ground across America. It's creating boomtowns—and a new economy. Rockefeller begins to conquer the industry, but he quickly makes enemies, including a young woman who will challenge Rockefeller's growing empire.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, prime members, you can listen to American Scandal add-free on Amazon music, download the app today. |
| 0:19.0 | It's the dead of night in March 1872. |
| 0:22.0 | The main street is empty and tight as Phil Pennsylvania, and all the homes are dark in this newly prosperous town. |
| 0:28.0 | But suddenly the silence is broken by the sound of heavy boots on a dirt road. |
| 0:32.0 | Man flood into the streets, their clothes stained with oil and the light of kerosene lamps flickering across their faces. |
| 0:39.0 | At the head of the pack walks Franklin Tarbel. |
| 0:43.0 | Tarbel was in his early 40s, he's tall, lean, with a thick brown beard trimmed to a point. |
| 0:48.0 | Right now Tarbel is gripping a sharpened axe. He's not preparing to hurt anyone, though he knows that tonight he may have to swing the weapon. |
| 0:56.0 | Tarbel turns, notices the man beside him, who looks worried. |
| 1:00.0 | Like Tarbel, he's in the oil business. Both men run their own small companies and both produce crude oil from Pennsylvania's newly discovered deposits. |
| 1:08.0 | Tarbel looks at the man and pats him on the shoulder. |
| 1:11.0 | Don't worry, we'll show John D. Rockefeller. We're not gonna roll over for that crook. |
| 1:16.0 | Frank, this seems like a bad idea. We're picking a fight with giants. |
| 1:20.0 | No, no, no, they picked this fight, not us. Remember that. |
| 1:24.0 | The fellow is never gonna give up. Not until every last oil man is working for him. |
| 1:28.0 | He's gonna keep buying us out, one by one. Anyone who says no, the Rockefeller is gonna crush them. |
| 1:34.0 | That's why we gotta take action. Stay strong, together. |
| 1:38.0 | Man stares down at his feet, shakes his head, but what if we can't hold down? |
| 1:42.0 | Look, if we all sell the Rockefeller at least we'll be on the winning side. |
| 1:46.0 | Tarbel shoots him in menacing glance. Now how'd Guy before I take orders from any man, especially a man like Rockefeller? |
| 1:53.0 | Up ahead, Tarbel sees the rail station. It still looks new and polished. |
| 1:57.0 | It's a sign of all the oil that's been discovered and tied to spill and all the money that's poured in. |
... |
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