Antitrust Act Vs Sherman Act

This investigation will scrutinize the question: To what extent did antitrust laws affect John D. Rockefeller’s company- Standard Oil? To analyze the effectiveness of the antitrust laws, the investigation will focus on the government policies and execution of said policies during the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era (1870-1920).

Continuing on with Wilson, there were two key antitrust measures that Congress added. Clayton Antitrust Act comes as the first. In 1914, this act was made to strengthen the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. The new Clayton Act did not allow corporation to gain stock to create a monopoly. If a company was to violate the law, its officers were able to be prosecuted. This act also specified the labor unions and farm organizations and gave them the right to exist, but the act would no longer accept antitrust situations. As for the second measure of antitrust, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was set up. This was the agency that was in charge of observing and investigating possible violations. Under Wilson’s control, the FTC found almost 400 orders to companies that were engaged in illegal

Several factors have been proposed as providing a rationale for mergers. Among the more prominent ones are (I) tax considerations, (2) diversification, (3) control, (4) purchase of assets below replacement cost, and (5) synergy. From the standpoint of society, which of these reasons are justifiable? Which are not? Why is such a question relevant to a company like ICI, which is considering a specific acquisition? Explain your answers.

Most notably, the Sherman Antitrust Act was passed in 1890, which stated that “Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is hereby declared to be illegal,” according to ourdocuments.gov. Those who broke this law were to be charged with a misdemeanor and could serve up to a year in prison and/or be charged with a fine of up to $5,000. Though the law was passed in order to bust trusts, the courts rarely ever enacted it for such a purpose, because judges could interpret what constituted as “trade or commerce among the several States.” Instead, the Sherman Antitrust Act was used mostly to bust unions, as they were considered to be illegal combinations in the eyes of the courts (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2017). This is just one example of how the government tended not to regulate industry and market capitalism during this time period. Another example is the Interstate Commerce Act. This law was introduced following public outcry for the regulation of railroads. According to ourdocuments.org, railroad companies previously had the ability to control virtually every aspect of the business. They could set low prices, which often drove out smaller competitors who couldn’t afford to compete with the prices. This led to these companies controlling the market in several

Industries began to grow bigger and bigger which fabricated many problems. The formation of monopolies and mergers increased as industries expanded. Eventually, social darwinism came about from the rise and fall of healthy and failing companies, also known as “survival of the fittest”. Teddy Roosevelt wanted to help solve these problems. By doing so, he expanded the role of the government in regulating the economy and gave citizens direct access to the legislative process. Then, in 1890, the Sherman Antitrust Act was set forth. This act was a federal law that prohibited monopolies. The Sherman Antitrust Act made any combination or trust in restraint of trade illegal. (Class notes, industrial reform evidence)

The Interstate Commerce Act (ICA) took place on February 4, 1887, when the Senate and House of Representatives granted Congress the power to regulate interstate railroads. This act included all transactions across several states. The Railroad Industry began taking advantage of the public by overcharging farmers, small business owners, and city to city passengers. The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 originally regulated shipping rates on the Railroad system, but later improved delivery of all kinds such as air travel, trucking, and shipping.

The Sherman Antitrust Act was passed by Congress in 1890. The Sherman Antitrust Act was the first measure put in place to allow free trade without any restrictions, and prohibited trusts in order to end them. This act gave Congress the right to regulate interstate commerce. Any restriction on free trade was marked as illegal and could result in fines and jail time. The Sherman Antitrust Act was basically a shield to protect people from the restriction of big corporations; in addition, this act had an immediate, threatening impact on the dominate businesses in the economy. The Standard Oil Company owned by John D. Rockefeller had a huge restriction on trade, resulting in violation of the Sherman Antitrust

This reform was the cornerstone of President Wilson’s New freedom program. The unending corruption of big organizations and their non-compliance with the Sherman Anti-Trust Act prompted the President to press for enactment of this Act. The FTC comprised of five members whose powers included the ability to define the “Unfair Trade practices” and issue “cease and desist” orders when there was evidence of corrupt Anti-Trust practices. These members were vested with more powers to combat unjust trade practices and monopolies. Closely associated with the Federal Trade Commission and Anti-Trust Act is the Clayton Anti-Anti-Trust Act in 1914. This act was enacted to clarify and define what constituted “monopolistic” activities. It protected the activities of labor unions and prohibited directors from serving in boards of competing

The Connecticut Compromised of 1787 in the United States, also known as the Great Compromised, originated in the creation of legislative bodies. It joined the Virginia Plan that favored population-based representation, and the New Jersey Plan, which featured each state as an equal. Roger Sherman, of Connecticut, played an important role in building this compromise. Roger Sherman was well-regarded at the convention and was respected by many of the other members. On the morning of June 11, Sherman proposed that the proportion of suffrage in the first chamber should correspond to the respective number of free inhabitants; and in the second chamber or Senate, each state should have one vote and no more. At first, this proposal was rejected as too

​In some cases, Teddy Roosevelt showed his ability to bust trusts. Trusts were a monopoly on goods or services, usually managed by a large overarching corporation. Trusts were illegal under the Anti-Sherman Trust Act of 1890. Unenforced, the act rarely was useful or used to eliminate trusts in the American economy. The act became more prolifically used under the Roosevelt administration like in the case of the Northern Securities Company, which was a railroad conglomerate. In 1904, the Supreme Court upheld charges against the company under the Anti-Trust Act, exemplifying the President’s administration’s battle against trusts, yet Roosevelt did not stop at this case.

The 1800’s were a time of widespread growth due to the Industrial Revolution which introduced new manufacturing processes and tools, greatly increasing productivity. As the 19th century came to an end, the Industrial Revolution enforced government intervention into the market place righting wrongs that had come to fruition. Among these interventions were the Sherman Act of 1890, the Greenbacks over the Gold Standard, 1862 and the Interstate Commerce Act, 1887. Even though the United States practiced in a free market, these government interventions moved to reinstate economic opportunities and to correct inequalities in the American economic markets.

On one hand, the American Pageant believed that the government did attempt to effectively curb the corruption, while on the other hand, Howard Zinn believed that the government was ineffective. In Howard Zinn’s chapter one notices that the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, which was originally created for the sole purpose of “forbading combinations in restraint of trade”, becomes ineffective due to the U.S vs E.C Knight Co. court case, which limited the power of the government to regulate monopolies due to the loopholes in the Sherman act created by the government, rather it was used to stop strikes which in turn helped monopolies. Based on Howard Zinn’s perspective, one can argue that the government was unsuccessful in curbing the corruption. Moreover, Zinn argued that the Interstate Commerce Commision (ICC), whose purpose was to regulate the railroads. Instead, it helped the railroads, as it helped them gain public support as the railroads are supposedly being regulated by the government when in reality, the ICC’s “supervision was almost entirely nominal.” Nevertheless, the American Pageant had a different perspective on this. According to the Pageant, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, though not very successful, was a great attempt by the government as it threatened big business corporations. Moreover, the Interstate Commerce Commision was argued by the American Pageant to have stabilized the business system and was the first large-scale legislation passed by the federal government to regulate businesses. With the help of the two documents, one could see two different perspectives on it. Zinn strongly advocated that the government did not do an effective job in curbing corruption, while the Pageant believed that, though the government wasn’t always effective, they made good attempts to curb the corruption and set an example for the

“Side Deals or Side Letters” : Every piece of business dealt by Apple must be in clear written form and should not be altered by means of mouth or writing after the day it goes into effect.

The theory of finance states that maximization of shareholder wealth should be the goal of every business organization. It is not clear, however, whether maximization of shareholder wealth is the main motivation behind Mergers and acquisitions. This has generated a lot of research interest the area. Unfortunately decades of intensive research have not been able to conclusively establish the impact of Mergers and acquisitions on shareholder wealth.

For example the Humane Slaughter Act applies only to slaughterhouses that sell meat to the federal government or the federal government agencies. Another example would include the Twenty Eight-Hour Act. With the Twenty Eight-Hour act animals transported by train were protected while those who were transported by trucks were not. Although there are laws evolving in the protection of animals they have their limits. With laws having their limits the laws may not protect animals under all circumstances. As a society there should be a continuation of proceeding to develop new laws. Animals have rights that are not being protected or considered when they are not given the chance to live without suffering or harm.