Monopolies In The Progressive Era

Words: 237
Pages: 1

The Progressive Era tried to stop the corruption of these large businesses/monopolies by bringing awareness of it to the forefront. With the exposure of these large monopolies, laws were placed into action to get these trusts complaisant. In 1890, the first federal act was passed, known as the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. This act was written by John Sherman and basically expressed that elimination of competitors by monopolies and trusts were unlawful. Unfortunately, this act was poorly written, and many people had a hard time understanding or enforcing this act due to the lack of clarity. To help strengthen/clarify the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act was implemented in 1914, basically filling in the “holes” of the Sherman Anti-Trust