Question

how did rockefeller and the standard oil company get around laws that forbade companies in one state from underselling or doing business in other states?
○ they ignored the laws since they were not enforceable.
○ they decided to monopolize the oil business.
○ they bribed congressmen to change the laws.
○ they developed the idea of creating trusts.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

• "They ignored the laws since they were not enforceable" is incorrect. The laws were a challenge, and ignoring them isn't how Standard Oil operated.
• "They decided to monopolize the oil business" describes their goal, not how they got around state laws.
• "They bribed congressmen to change the laws" is not accurate. Rockefeller used trusts, not bribery, to bypass state - to - state business restrictions.
• "They developed the idea of creating trusts" is correct. Trusts allowed Standard Oil to combine multiple companies' stocks under a board of trustees, effectively bypassing state laws that restricted inter - state business. By creating trusts, they could control operations across states while technically complying with the letter of the law (even if not the spirit) regarding inter - state business restrictions.

Answer:

D. They developed the idea of creating trusts.