The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was the first legislation enacted by the United States Congress, in 1890, in order to curb concentrations of power that interfere with trade and reduce economic competition. Several states had passed similar laws, but they were limited to intrastate businesses. This act was based on the constitutional power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce. It especially targeted big corporations operating in multiple states. The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was created to help workers and smaller businessmen by encouraging competition. While it did assist these two groups, the act eventually hindered workers in attaining better working conditions. |
| Above is a picture of John Sherman. |
The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was named after US Senator John Sherman of Ohio, who was an expert on the regulation of commerce. The Sherman Anti-Trust Act passed the Senate by a vote of 51 – 1 on April 8, 1890, and the House of Representatives by a unanimous vote of 242 – 0 on June 20, 1890. President Benjamin Harrison signed the bill into law on July 2, 1890. The legislation was passed at a time of extreme public hostility towards large corporations like Standard Oil and the American Railway Union, which were seen to be unfairly monopolizing certain industries. The act signaled a shift in American regulatory strategy towards business and markets, which made competition more strict.
One of the act’s main provisions outlaws all combinations that restrain trade between states or with foreign nations. A second key provision makes illegal all attempts to monopolize any part of trade or commerce in the US. These two provisions, which constitute the heart of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, are enforceable by the US Department of Justice through litigation in the federal courts. If one where to violate the provisions of this act, the resulting punishments would be fines and imprisonment.
The first enforcement of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act occurred during the administration of US President Theodore Roosevelt’s term from 1901 to 1909. Congress passed two legislative measures that provided support for the Sherman Act: the Clayton Anti-Trust Act and the Federal Trade Commission.
Today, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act means a financial relationship in which one party gives another the right to hold property or assets for a third party. In 2019, the Justice Department began a broad review of potentially anticompetitive behavior by “market-leading online platforms,” including Google and Facebook, and a coalition of attorneys general from 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico announced coordinated antitrust investigations into alleged monopolistic practices by Google.
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