"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
In United States v. E.C. Knight Co. (1895), the Supreme Court limited this statute by ruling that:
- A
Trusts could be regulated only by state legislatures
- Bcheck_circle
Manufacturing was distinct from commerce and beyond federal antitrust power
- C
Labor unions were exempt from antitrust prosecution
- D
Railroads alone fell under federal antitrust jurisdiction
Explanation
The Knight ruling distinguished manufacturing from commerce, weakening federal antitrust authority over industrial monopolies until Theodore Roosevelt revived enforcement.