"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
- Bcheck_circle
The power to regulate interstate commerce
- C
The treaty-making power of the executive branch
- D
The Necessary and Proper Clause as applied to coining money
Explanation
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).