Founded in 1901 by J.P. Morgan through the merger of Carnegie Steel, Federal Steel, and National Steel, U.S. Steel became the world’s first billion-dollar corporation, producing 67% of the U.S.’s steel in its first year. Charles M. Schwab served as its first president. Known as “The Corporation,” it dominated American industry but remained cautious due to debt and antitrust concerns.
Throughout the early 20th century, U.S. Steel grew through acquisitions like Tennessee Coal and Iron and spearheaded workplace safety initiatives. Its influence waned by 1911 when its market share dropped to 50%, while rival Bethlehem Steel gained ground. That same year, a federal attempt to break up U.S. Steel under antitrust laws failed.
The company expanded in the South, where historian Douglas Blackmon argues it profited from exploitative convict labor and discriminatory laws, particularly in Alabama. During WWII, U.S. Steel was a major defense contractor and peaked in employment in 1943 with over 340,000 workers.
Postwar, U.S. Steel faced labor tensions. In 1952, President Truman’s attempt to nationalize steel mills failed after a Supreme Court ruling. In 1962, President Kennedy successfully pressured the industry to roll back price hikes. U.S. Steel opposed civil rights integration efforts in Alabama in the 1960s, despite being a major employer there.
As global competition grew, U.S. Steel declined. It diversified, acquiring Marathon Oil in 1982 and becoming USX Corporation in 1986. This move, criticized as tax-driven rather than aimed at modernizing steel, shifted focus away from manufacturing. Labor unrest continued with a major work stoppage in 1986-87, followed by permanent plant closures.
By the 21st century, U.S. Steel’s share of domestic production had shrunk to just 8%. It remained a symbol of American industrial history, headquartered for decades in the Empire State Building and later Downtown Pittsburgh.
