The act was designed primarily to:

Answer: Restrict combinations that limited competition in interstate commerce Congress responded to popular outrage over trusts by outlawing combinations restraining interstate trade, though early enforcement was weak and often turned against unions.

Which development most directly prompted passage of this legislation?

Answer: Public alarm over Standard Oil and other large business combinations By the late 1880s, trust arrangements (most prominently Rockefeller's Standard Oil) had drawn intense political pressure for federal action. The Pullman Strike came after passage; Wabash (1886) concerned state regulation of railroads.

The federal authority claimed in this statute is grounded most directly in which constitutional power?

Answer: The power to regulate interstate commerce The act repeatedly cites "trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations," language drawn directly from the Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8). The Supreme Court would later limit its reach in U.S. v. E.C. Knight (1895).

AP US History · Topic 6.12

Controversies over the Role of Government in the Gilded Age Practice

Part of Period 6: 1865–1898.

Practice questions

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Sample questions

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Sample 1difficulty 2/5
$"Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is hereby declared to be illegal... Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize... any part of the trade or commerce among the several States... shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor." — Sherman Antitrust Act, 1890$
$The act was designed primarily to:$
- A
  $Restrict combinations that limited competition in interstate commerce$
  check_circle
- B
  $Protect labor unions from injunctions in federal courts$
- C
  $Subsidize small farmers facing falling crop prices$
- D
  $Reorganize the federal banking system$
Why
$Congress responded to popular outrage over trusts by outlawing combinations restraining interstate trade, though early enforcement was weak and often turned against unions.$
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Sample 2difficulty 3/5
$"Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is hereby declared to be illegal... Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize... any part of the trade or commerce among the several States... shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor." — Sherman Antitrust Act, 1890$
$Which development most directly prompted passage of this legislation?$
- A
  $Congressional response to the Haymarket bombing$
- B
  $Industrial sabotage during the Pullman Strike of 1894$
- C
  $Public alarm over Standard Oil and other large business combinations$
  check_circle
- D
  $Pressure from Granger laws struck down in Wabash v. Illinois$
Why
$By the late 1880s, trust arrangements (most prominently Rockefeller's Standard Oil) had drawn intense political pressure for federal action. The Pullman Strike came after passage; Wabash (1886) concerned state regulation of railroads.$
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Sample 3difficulty 3/5
$"Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is hereby declared to be illegal... Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize... any part of the trade or commerce among the several States... shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor." — Sherman Antitrust Act, 1890$
$The federal authority claimed in this statute is grounded most directly in which constitutional power?$
- A
  $The taxing and spending power of the General Welfare Clause$
- B
  $The power to regulate interstate commerce$
  check_circle
- C
  $The treaty-making power of the executive branch$
- D
  $The Necessary and Proper Clause as applied to coining money$
Why
$The act repeatedly cites "trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations," language drawn directly from the Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8). The Supreme Court would later limit its reach in U.S. v. E.C. Knight (1895).$
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Sample 4difficulty 3/5
$"Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is hereby declared to be illegal... Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize... any part of the trade or commerce among the several States... shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor." — Sherman Antitrust Act, 1890$
$A historian arguing the act had only modest immediate impact would best cite:$
- A
  $Its frequent use to break strikes such as Pullman in 1894$
  check_circle
- B
  $Its swift dissolution of Standard Oil in the 1890s$
- C
  $Its consolidation of federal authority over agriculture$
- D
  $Its ratification through a constitutional amendment$
Why
$In re Debs (1895) showed how the Sherman Act was wielded against labor more vigorously than against trusts in its first decade.$
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Sample 5difficulty 3/5
$"All charges made for any service rendered or to be rendered in the transportation of passengers or property... shall be reasonable and just; and every unjust and unreasonable charge for such service is prohibited and declared to be unlawful." — Interstate Commerce Act, 1887$
$This statute was passed largely in response to:$
- A
  $Eastern bankers seeking new investment vehicles$
- B
  $Demands by railroad executives for federal protection$
- C
  $Farmer and merchant complaints about discriminatory railroad rates$
  check_circle
- D
  $The Supreme Court's ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson$
Why
$Granger and merchant pressure over rate discrimination, after Wabash (1886) limited state regulation, drove Congress to create the first major federal regulatory agency.$
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