Page "Sherman Antitrust Act" Paragraph 1

The Sherman Antitrust Act ( Sherman Act, July 2, 1890, ch.

647,, ) is a landmark federal statute on competition law passed by Congress in 1890.

It prohibits certain business activities that reduce competition in the marketplace, and requires the United States federal government to investigate and pursue trusts, companies, and organizations suspected of being in violation.

It was the first Federal statute to limit cartels and monopolies, and today still forms the basis for most antitrust litigation by the United States federal government.

However, for the most part, politicians were unwilling to refer to the law until Theodore Roosevelt's presidency ( 1901 – 1909 ).