"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
- Ccheck_circle
Public alarm over Standard Oil and other large business combinations
- D
Pressure from Granger laws struck down in Wabash v. Illinois
Explanation
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.