"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:
- Acheck_circle
Its frequent use to break strikes such as Pullman in 1894
- 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
Explanation
In re Debs (1895) showed how the Sherman Act was wielded against labor more vigorously than against trusts in its first decade.