Sherman Anti Trust Act Research Paper

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The Sherman Antitrust Act preventing one company from becoming too powerful Act of 1890 was the first measure passed by the U.S. Congress to prohibit violent and cruel companies with too much power, it still remains the most important. The Act provides: "Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or plan that was put together secretly by a group of people, in self-control or control device of trade or the buying and selling of goods among the more than two, but not a lot of States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal". Why is the Sherman Anti- Trust so important? What was the purpose of the Anti-Trust Act?

John Sherman (1823-1900) was the younger brother of the American Civil War general …show more content…
By the end of the century, however, the coming into view of powerful trusts began to threaten the U.S. business. Trusts were related to big business holding companies that, by 1888, had grouped together a very large share of U.S. manufacturing and mining businesses into nationwide companies with too much power. The trusts found that through grouping together they could charge one company that controls too much prices and so make too much money made good things received and large related to managing money gains. Access to greater political power at state and national levels led to further money-based benefits for the trusts, such as taxes/import taxes or treating certain groups of people unfairly set of steel tracks for train rates or rebates. The most famous for something bad of the trusts were the Sugar Trust, the Whisky Trust, the Cordage Trust, the Beef Trust, the Tobacco Trust, John D. Rockefeller's Oil Trust (Standard Oil of New Jersey), and J. P. Morgan's Steel Trust (U.S. Steel Corporation).

People who use a product or service , workers, farmers, and other suppliers were directly hurt money-based as a result of the monopolizations. Even more important, maybe, was that the trusts fanned into renewed flame a traditional U.S. fear and hatred of unchecked power, whether political or money-based, and especially of companies with too much power that ended or threatened equal opportunity for …show more content…
It also made it a crime to "totally control, or attempt to totally control ... any part of the trade or the buying and selling of goods)." The purpose of the act was to maintain competition in business. However, enforcement of the act proved to be very hard. Congress had put into law the Sherman Act according to its agreeing with, or related to, the Constitution power to control(business between states, but this was only the second time that Congress depended on that power. Because Congress was somewhat uncertain of the reach of its law-based power, it framed the law in broad common-law ideas that didn't have detail. For example, such key terms as one company that controls too much and trust were not defined. In effect, Congress passed the problem of enforcing the law to the executive branch, and to the law-related branch, it gave the responsibility of understanding/explaining the law. Still, the act was an affecting lots of things in many ways for a long time law-based departure from the most important don't interfere; leave things alone way of thinking of the time in
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