Sherman Antitrust Act

E99530

United States federal statute antitrust law

The Sherman Antitrust Act is a landmark 1890 U.S. federal law that outlawed monopolistic business practices and formed the foundation of American antitrust policy.

Aliases (3)

Sherman Act ×1
Sherman Antitrust Act (codified sections) ×1
Sherman Antitrust Act enforcement ×1

Statements (50)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	United States federal statute → antitrust law →
alsoKnownAs	Sherman Act →
appliesTo	foreign commerce with substantial effect on U.S. commerce → interstate commerce →
chamberOfOrigin	United States Senate →
constitutionalBasis	Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution →
containsSection	Section 1 → Section 2 →
country	United States →
enactedInYear	1890 →
enactedOnDate	1890-07-02 →
enforcedBy	United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division → private plaintiffs through civil actions →
formsFoundationOf	United States antitrust policy →
historicalSignificance	first major federal statute to limit cartels and monopolies in the United States →
interpretedBy	Supreme Court of the United States →
introducedIn	51st United States Congress →
John ShermanOccupation	United States Senator →
John ShermanStateRepresented	Ohio →
jurisdiction	federal government of the United States →
landmarkCase	Northern Securities Co. v. United States → Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States → United States v. American Tobacco Co. → United States v. E. C. Knight Co. → United States v. Microsoft Corp. →
laterComplementedBy	Clayton Antitrust Act → Federal Trade Commission Act →
legalDomain	competition law →
namedAfter	John Sherman →
penaltiesInclude	fines → imprisonment →
policyGoal	protection of competition rather than competitors →
providesFor	civil remedies → criminal penalties → treble damages for private plaintiffs →
publicLawNumber	26 Stat. 209 →
purpose	to preserve competition in interstate commerce → to prohibit monopolies → to prohibit unreasonable restraints of trade →
Section1Prohibits	combinations in restraint of trade → conspiracies in restraint of trade → contracts in restraint of trade →
Section2Prohibits	attempted monopolization → conspiracies to monopolize → monopolization →
signedBy	Benjamin Harrison NERFINISHED →
signedByOffice	President of the United States →
subjectMatter	monopoly power → restraint of trade →

Referenced by (8)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Clayton Act provisions → Federal Trade Commission Act provisions →	relatedTo
Sherman Antitrust Act ("Sherman Act") →	alsoKnownAs
Commerce and Trade ("Sherman Antitrust Act (codified sections)") →	contains
Standard Oil ("Sherman Antitrust Act enforcement") →	dissolutionCause
The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age →	historicalContext
Federal Trade Commission →	legalBasis
Benjamin Harrison →	signed