Leading U.S. producer of steel and related products.
It was founded in 1901 by Elbert H. Gary , and J.P. Morgan to consolidate Andrew Carnegie 's Carnegie Steel Co., Gary's Federal Steel Co., and other steel and metal companies. As chairman of the board, Gary dominated the corporation in its early years, organizing price agreements among steel producers and opposing unions. An antitrust suit against U.S. Steel went as far as the Supreme Court, which ruled in 1920 that it was not a monopoly in restraint of trade. The corporation recognized the United Steelworkers of America in 1936. The largest U.S. steel producer, U.S. Steel diversified into oil and gas in the later 20th century as well as into chemicals, mining, construction, and transportation. In 1986 the {{link=holding company">holding company USX Corp. was established to oversee it and other operating units. U.S. Steel Group was spun off from USX in 2002 and again became an independent, publicly traded corporation.