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Adam Smith writes The Wealth of Nations in 1776
Scottish economist, Adam Smith wrote about Laissez-faire economics and the foundation of Capitalism. Smith urged individuals that they should pursue their own self economic interests. -
Standard Oil Company
John D. Rockefeller, established the company in 1870. The company thrived off trusts. Standard Oil Company had complete control over the market due to Rockefellers' usage of Horizontal and Vertical Integration. Rockefeller would buy other companies and the suppliers of other companies. The oil giant would do this to eliminate competition and have a complete control over the market. This meant he could set prices however he wanted. -
Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890
The United States government wanted to have some protections for competition. Up until now, large businesses were able to run through small companies and corner the market. John Sherman wrote the Antitrust Act of 1890 to help protect the public from the failure of the market. When it first passed, the Sherman Antitrust Act was very ineffective and was poorly worded. This meant that it was hard to stop large corporations from doing mergers. The idea was there, however the execution was not. -
Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States
The United States government tried to find Standard Oil Co. guilty of making a monopoly out of the oil industry through anticompetitive acts. The Supreme Court found the company guilty and forced them to divide into several geographical separate firms. -
United States v. American Tobacco Co.
The Supreme Court was once again called in to judge whether American Tobacco Co. was trying to monopolize the tobacco industry. The Court decided that American Tobacco Industry was guilty and split them into 4 competitors. This court was a big win for antitrust law but there were still hundreds of companies using trusts within the United States. -
Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914
The Clayton Antitrust act did a better job accurately defining what a trust was and what unethical business practices were being used by corporations. The Federal Trade Commission Act and Clayton Act were also added. The FTC is an independent agency of United government who enforces the antitrust law and protection of consumers. -
Robinson Patman Act
The Robinson Patman act was created to help prevent price discrimination. The act was passed to help protect small retail shops and consumers from price discrimination. -
FTC v. Morton Salt
Morton Salt was found guilty of price discrimination by the Supreme Court. The FTC found that Morton Salt was violating the Robinson Patman act and was hurting the market. -
Celler–Kefauver Act
This helped strengthen the Clayton Antitrust Act and close a loophole that companies were using for acquisitions. -
FTC. v Consolidated Foods
In 1965, The FTC blocked a merger with Gentry Inc. after the FTC found that the acquisition had violated the Clayton Act. -
Appellant v. Falstaff Brewery
The court found that Falstaff Brewery had violated the Cellar Kefauver act as the company tried to limit competition. -
Trusts start to be used by corporations
During the late nineteenth century, corporations started to use trusts as a way to force smaller companies into submission. Large companies like Standard Oil could undercut small businesses and force them into mergers. As time evolved, business practices too. Adam Smith's ideas started to seem a little bit outdated due to loose regulations that Capitalism was thriving on. -
Texaco retailers sue Texaco
The oil company Texaco was caught selling oil at different prices to retailers and wholesalers. On June 15, 1990, the Supreme Court found the oil company guilty of violating the Robinson Patman Law. -
AT&T violation of Clayton Act
AT&T tried to acquire T-Mobile USA, however the United States Department of Justice announced that they would be blocking the takeover as it was a violation of the Clayton Antitrust Act. On August 31, 2011 after a lengthy trial, the Department of Justice announced they would be blocking the takeover.
