J. P. Morgan, entering the field of industrial consolidation, forms the Federal Steel Company in 1898.

The Illinois Steel Company is an American steel producer with five plants in Illinois and Wisconsin.

Founded through a consolidation in 1889, Illinois Steel had grown to become the largest steel producer in the United States.

Several other steel and transportation companies are merged into it to form the Federal Steel Company, which itself will merge into U.S. Steel in 1901.