What was the significance of the Interstate Commerce Act and the Sherman Antitrust Act?

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On February 4, 1887, both the Senate and House passed the Interstate Commerce Act, which applied the Constitution’s “Commerce Clause”—granting Congress the power “to Regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States”—to regulating railroad rates. Small businesses and farmers were protesting that the railroads charged them higher rates than larger corporations, and that the railroads were also setting higher rates for short hauls than for long-distance hauls. Although the railroads claimed economic justification for policies that favored big businesses, small shippers insisted that the railroads were gouging them.

It took years for Congress to respond to these protests, due to members’ reluctance to have the government interfere in any way with corporate policies. In 1874 legislation was introduced calling for a federal railroad commission. The bill passed the House, but not the Senate. When Congress failed to act, some states adopted their own railroad regulations. Those laws were struck down in 1886, when the Supreme Court ruled in Wabash v. Illinois that the state of Illinois could not restrict the rates that the Wabash Railroad was charging because its freight traffic moved between the states, and only the federal government could regulate interstate commerce. Continued public anger over unfair railroad rates prompted Illinois senator Shelby M. Cullom to hold the hearings that led to the enactment of the Interstate Commerce Act.

That law limited railroads to rates that were “reasonable and just,” forbade rebates to high-volume users, and made it illegal to charge higher rates for shorter hauls. To hear evidence and render decisions on individual cases, the act created the Interstate Commerce Commission. This was the first federal independent regulatory commission, and it served as a model for others that would follow, from the Federal Trade Commission to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Evolving technology eventually made the purpose of the ICC obsolete, and in 1995 Congress abolished the commission, transferring its remaining functions to the Surface Transportation Board. But while the ICC has come and gone, its creation marked a significant turning point in federal policy. Before 1887, Congress had applied the Commerce Clause only on a limited basis, usually to remove barriers that the states tried to impose on interstate trade. The Interstate Commerce Act showed that Congress could apply the Commerce Clause more expansively to national issues if they involved commerce across state lines. After 1887, the national economy grew much more integrated, making almost all commerce interstate and international. The nation rather than the Constitution had changed. That development turned the Commerce Clause into a powerful legislative tool for addressing national problems.

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What was the significance of the Interstate Commerce Act and the Sherman Antitrust Act?
The Administrative State Project
What was the significance of the Interstate Commerce Act and the Sherman Antitrust Act?
Five Pillars of the Administrative State
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The Sherman Antitrust Act is a federal law passed in 1890 that banned trusts and monopolies in industry, authorizing the federal government to dissolve trusts and break up monopolies as part of its power to regulate interstate commerce. It was the first modern American antitrust law and laid the foundation for Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft's attempts to break up large industrial trusts.[1]

Background

The Sherman Antitrust Act was signed into law by President Benjamin Harrison in 1890. It was sponsored by Senator John Sherman of Ohio and came in response to public concerns over the increasing prevalence of trusts and their power to artificially increase prices and discourage competition.[2]

Provisions

Ban on Trusts

Section 1 of the act banned all industrial trusts.

Every contract, combination in the form of trust or other- wise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is hereby declared to be illegal.[1][3]


Section 2 contained a similar ban on monopolies, specifically ones that did not occur naturally and were instead the result of anti-competitive practices.

Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor...[1][3]

Enforcement

Like the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, the Sherman Antitrust Act relied on the federal circuit courts for its enforcement. If a violation occurred, a federal district attorney could initiate proceedings in equity, which could result in a temporary restraining order, an injunction, or the dismantling of a trust.[1]

Section 6 of the act held that any property held by a trust or organization that violated Section 1 could be seized by the federal government after forfeiture proceedings.[1]

Section 7 gave standing to sue for damages in a circuit court to any person or corporation injured in their "business or property" by any entity that violated Section 1.[1]

Amending statutes

Below is a partial list of subsequent laws that amended provisions of the Sherman Antitrust Act:

  • Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 expanded on the Sherman Antitrust Act and added new provisions and enforcement schemes.[4]

See also

  • Clayton Antitrust Act
  • Interstate Commerce Act
  • Gibbons v. Ogden
  • Wickard v. Filburn
  • A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States
  • United States v. Lopez
  • Full text of the act
  • Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 OurDocuments.gov, "Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890)," accessed January 2, 2018
  2. OurDocuments.gov, "Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890)," accessed January 2, 2018
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  4. History.House.gov, "The Clayton Antitrust Act," accessed January 2, 2018

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What was the significance of the Interstate Commerce Act and the Sherman Antitrust Act?
Reporting

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Laws

Administrative Procedure Act • Antiquities Act • Civil Service Reform Act • Clayton Antitrust Act • Communications Act of 1934 • Congressional Review Act • Electronic Freedom of Information Act • Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 • Federal Housekeeping Statute • Federal Reserve Act • Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 • Freedom of Information Act • Government in the Sunshine Act • Independent Offices Appropriations Act of 1952 • Information Quality Act • Interstate Commerce Act • National Labor Relations Act • Paperwork Reduction Act • Pendleton Act • Privacy Act of 1974 • Regulatory Flexibility Act • REINS Act • REINS Act (Wisconsin) • Securities Act of 1933 • Securities Exchange Act of 1934 • Sherman Antitrust Act • Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act • Truth in Regulating Act • Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

Cases

Abbott Laboratories v. Gardner • A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States • Association of Data Processing Service Organizations v. Camp • Auer v. Robbins • Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council • Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe • Federal Trade Commission (FTC) v. Standard Oil Company of California • Field v. Clark • Food and Drug Administration v. Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corporation • Humphrey's Executor v. United States • Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) v. Chadha • J.W. Hampton Jr. & Company v. United States • Lucia v. SEC • Marshall v. Barlow's • Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency • Mistretta v. United States • National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) v. Sebelius • National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning Company • National Labor Relations Board v. Sears, Roebuck & Co. • Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan • Securities and Exchange Commission v. Chenery Corporation • Skidmore v. Swift & Co. • United States v. Lopez • United States v. Western Pacific Railroad Co. • Universal Camera Corporation v. National Labor Relations Board • Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Natural Resources Defense Council • Wayman v. Southard • Weyerhaeuser Company v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service • Whitman v. American Trucking Associations • Wickard v. Filburn • Wiener v. United States

Terms

Adjudication (administrative state) • Administrative judge • Administrative law • Administrative law judge • Administrative state • Arbitrary-or-capricious test • Auer deference • Barrier to entry • Bootleggers and Baptists • Chevron deference (doctrine) • Civil servant • Civil service • Code of Federal Regulations • Codify (administrative state) • Comment period • Compliance costs • Congressional Record • Coordination (administrative state) • Deference (administrative state) • Direct and indirect costs (administrative state) • Enabling statute • Ex parte communication (administrative state) • Executive agency • Federal law • Federal Register • Federalism • Final rule • Formal rulemaking • Formalism (law) • Functionalism (law) • Guidance (administrative state) • Hybrid rulemaking • Incorporation by reference • Independent federal agency • Informal rulemaking • Joint resolution of disapproval (administrative state) • Major rule • Negotiated rulemaking • Nondelegation doctrine • OIRA prompt letter • Organic statute • Pragmatism (law) • Precautionary principle • Promulgate • Proposed rule • Publication rulemaking • Regulatory budget • Regulatory capture • Regulatory dark matter • Regulatory impact analysis • Regulatory policy officer • Regulatory reform officer • Regulatory review • Rent seeking • Retrospective regulatory review • Risk assessment (administrative state) • Rulemaking • Separation of powers • Significant regulatory action • Skidmore deference • Statutory authority • Substantive law and procedural law • Sue and settle • Sunset provision • Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions • United States Code • United States Statutes at Large

Bibliography

  • "Administrative Law - The 20th Century Bequeaths an 'Illegitimate Exotic' in Full and Terrifying Flower" by Stephen P. Dresch (2000)
  • "Confronting the Administrative Threat" by Philip Hamburger and Tony Mills (2017)
  • "Constitutionalism after the New Deal" by Cass R. Sunstein (1987)
  • Federalist No. 23 by Alexander Hamilton (1787)
  • "From Administrative State to Constitutional Government" by Joseph Postell (2012)
  • "Interring the Nondelegation Doctrine" by Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule (2002)
  • "Rulemaking as Legislating" by Kathryn Watts (2015)
  • "The Checks & Balances of the Regulatory State" by Paul R. Verkuil (2016)
  • "The Myth of the Nondelegation Doctrine" by Keith E. Whittington and Jason Iuliano (2017)
  • "The Progressive Origins of the Administrative State: Wilson, Goodnow, and Landis" by Ronald J. Pestritto (2007)
  • "The Rise and Rise of the Administrative State" by Gary Lawson (1994)
  • "The Study of Administration" by Woodrow Wilson (1887)
  • "The Threat to Liberty" by Steven F. Hayward (2017)
  • "Why the Modern Administrative State Is Inconsistent with the Rule of Law" by Richard A. Epstein (2008)

Agencies

Administrative Conference of the United States • United States Civil Service Commission • U.S. Government Accountability Office • U.S. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs • U.S. Office of Management and Budget

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What was the significance of the Sherman Antitrust Act?

The Sherman Anti-Trust Act authorized the federal government to institute proceedings against trusts in order to dissolve them. Any combination "in the form of trust or otherwise that was in restraint of trade or commerce among the several states, or with foreign nations" was declared illegal.

How is the Sherman Antitrust Act similar in purpose to the Interstate Commerce Act?

Like the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, the Sherman Antitrust Act relied on the federal circuit courts for its enforcement. If a violation occurred, a federal district attorney could initiate proceedings in equity, which could result in a temporary restraining order, an injunction, or the dismantling of a trust.

What did the Sherman Antitrust Act make illegal in 1890?

The Sherman Antitrust Act was the first measure enacted by the U.S. Congress to prohibit trusts (or monopolies of any type). Although several states had previously enacted similar laws, they were limited to intrastate commerce.