Anti-Trust Legislation & Court Cases

History of Anti-Trust Legislation & Court Cases

In the late nineteenth century, the United States of America saw companies flourish. Advances in technology greatly increased output and lowered costs of many goods; people were also making more money and the nation was truly prospering. Due to the booming economy, a great deal of changes occurred. Companies started to grow at a faster rate, and soon there were enormous companies that seemed to rule their individual industries. It quickly became apparent that some firms were monopolizing the industries, making prices higher and lessening the competitiveness of the market. Many companies were also fixing prices, forcing other businesses to pay ridiculous amounts since they had no other options.
In this, the government is trying to help facilitate competition in order to guarantee better prices for consumers and more of a chance for other firms to enter the industries. A group of organized farmers, called the Grangers, got together and pushed for government intervention in regulating the railroad industry. At the time, the railroad was charging ridiculous rates and the farmers could not afford to keep up with the prices in order to transport their products. The Interstate Commerce Act (1887) was the first attempt from the government to help regulate businesses. It was "devised to apply technical expertise and a semijudicial and less partisan approach to the regulation of complex affairs." It required the all railroads that passed through more than one state charge fair rates and handle their business in a just manner. It also made pools, discriminatory rates, drawbacks, and rebates illegal. From this act, the Interstate Commerce Commission was also introduced; one of their first orders of business was to ensure that companies were charging appropriate rates and to help prevent
It ruins the natural competition of the economy, and forces competitors and consumers to often pay unfair prices for their goods. The history of anti-trust legislation has been a bit confusing, as it Congress has found it very difficult to establish what exactly is illegal and what situations the various legislations apply to versus which are acceptable. All in all, anti-trust legislation has been very important to the history of the United States economy, for without them there would be a number of monopolies still present, controlling various industries with possible harmful