The American Telephone and Telegraph Company was founded in New York in 1885 by Alexander Graham Bell. In 1899 the assets of American Bell were transferred into its subsidiary AT&T which was formerly AT&T Long Lines. This was done because Massachusetts corporate laws were very restrictive and limited capitalization to ten million dollars, for stalling American Bell’s further growth. With this asset transfer, AT&T became the parent company of both American Bell and the Bell System.
This merger gave AT&T a monopoly over phone service in the United States and Canada. Through a network of companies called the Bell System, or Ma Bell, this monopoly was held for most of the 20th century.
In 1907, Theodore Newton Vail became president of AT&T.