In 1990, the Sherman Antitrust Act was used against Microsoft for anti
competitive behavior against their competitors. The Sherman Antitrust
Act is still relevant even a century after it was passed in Congress.
The Sherman Antitrust Act was passed to combat the growing problem that trusts
and monopolies had become in the Gilded Age. The Sherman Antitrust Act would
later prove to be successful in breaking up large trusts such as the Standard Oil
Trust owned by John D. Rockefeller, and also Carnegie Steel owned by Andrew Carnegie.
What are monopolies and
trusts? Who
were involved with them?
Monopolies are business and corporations that control all
or most of a particular industry. Trusts are used to
control multiple companies, which are used to create
monopolies. Trusts were used by a lot of rich business
owners, especially during the Gilded Age. For Example,
John D. Rockefeller used trust to take over the oil industry.
Why were monopolies
a problem to
the American economy?
Monopolies made possible by Trusts, became a problem since
they ended most competition. They can keep high prices since
there is no real competition. This makes it harder for the
average person to make do with the same amount of money. It also
made it easier for the corporation to not innovate and be
efficient.This also gave them too much power over the
government. This is why is monopolies were and still
are a serious problem to the American economy.
How was the Sherman
Antitrust Act used
to break up monopolies and
trusts? How did that make
America a better place to live?
The Sherman Act banned corporations from restricting
trade. It made it possible for the U.S government to
break up the trusts and monopolies since they restricted
trade. Although it was initially used to break up the
Unions, but by 1900s the Sherman Act was being used to
break up monopolies and trusts, and not unions. This
forced companies to be competitive which meant they
had to offer lower prices, and better products.
I have explored and made it clear why the Sherman Antitrust Act was
passed and how it makes America a better place to live. I started
with defining what a monopoly and trusts are. I then go on to
explain how the Sherman Antitrust Act was used to break up monopolies
and trusts and how that made America a better place to live.
The Sherman Antitrust Act has slowly made America a better place
to live by enabling the U.S government to break monopolies that
normally make low quality products and do not innovate.