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Article: Tobacco Trust
- Article from:
- Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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TOBACCO TRUST
The American Tobacco Company was a huge holding company that monopolized the U.S. tobacco market between 1890 and 1910. Foundations for American Tobacco began in 1881 when James B. Duke (1856
–
1925) went into the cigarette business with his father, Washington Duke, founding W. Duke and Sons Company near Durham, North Carolina. The younger Duke led the company by aggressive, growth-oriented practices such as price-cutting (to undercut competitors) and spending up to 20 percent of sales on advertising and promotion. By the mid-1880s Duke expanded operations to take advantage of the cigarette markets in the North and West. Competition between his company and four other ...