Question

can someone please explain to me what trust was (John D. Rokefeller) and political bosses and political machines?

Answer 1

A trust in this context means a monopoly: In the case of Rockefeller, that monopoly was Standard Oil. In a monopoly, one company controls the supply of a product or service and is able to charge outrageous prices and squash potential competitors. The government in a free market capitalist society has to break up monopolies in order for the economy to function properly. [ There are entities known as "natural monopolies" that are allowed to exist because to have a bunch of different suppliers of some types of service, like water or roads or electricity is too complicated and inefficient. Natural monopolies are allowed but are tightly regulated].
A political machine is a form of corruption that exists where one party has so much influence/support in a particular area that they control virtually everything that goes on. If a citizen wants to get anything done in the public or business arena, they have to promise to support the political bosses of the political machine and in many cases must "pay to play" as they say in Chicago. A political machine is a type of power monopoly.