For this EOTO I was assigned with research based on the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. Specifically put into place by president Harrison on July 2, 1890. This act was put into law to outlaw monopolistic business practices. Breaking that down a little bit more it means interstate commerce and competition in the marketplace is prohibited, “every contract, combination, or conspiracy in restraint of trade, monopolization, attempt monopolization, or conspiracy or combination to monopolize,” (Documents) Antitrust laws are put into place in order to protect competition when compared to a free and open market which ensures low prices and business cutting costs to attract customers to buy their product. A trust was an arrangement by which stockholders in several companies transferred their shares to a single set of trustees. In exchange, the stockholders received a certificate entitling them to a specified share of the consolidated earnings of the jointly managed companies. The trusts came to dominate a number of major industries, destroying competition. For example, on January 2, 1882, the Standard Oil Trust was formed. Attorney Samuel Dodd of Standard Oil first had the idea of a trust. A board of trustees was set up, and all the Standard properties were placed in its hands. Every stockholder received 20 trust certificates for each share of Standard Oil stock. All the profits of the component companies were sent to the nine trustees, who determined the dividends. The nine trustees elected the directors and officers of all the component companies. This allowed Standard Oil to function as a monopoly since the nine trustees ran all the component companies. 
Some may think Is the Sherman Antitrust Act still in force? If so, when was it last invoked? Some have even theorized that by the year 2050 there will have a corporation that runs everything. I will use the Bell corporation as an example. the Bell Telephone Corporation which was renamed AT&T in 1885, had a hold on the phone industry throughout much of the 20th century. Many of their great achievements were AT&T Long Lines, which provided long-distance service; and Bell Labs, which did research and development. This, of course, was great for AT&T. Theodore Newton Vail, an early company president came up with the slogan for the company, “One Policy, One System, Universal Service.” It Faced its first antitrust suit in 1913, for example, AT&T agreed to sell its stake in Western Union,
allowing independent companies to interconnect with its system, and not acquire those companies without government authorization. In 1949, the government filed suit again, resulting (seven years later) in AT&T agreeing to limit its control of the U.S. phone network to 85 percent and to sell its interests in Canada and the Caribbean. But it took another 30 years for the government to drive a stake through AT&T’s heart. By 1974,
the Department of Justice suspected AT&T was using profits from its Western Electric to lower the costs of its networks, which was contrary to antitrust policy. This and other illegal practices led to what some called “The Deal of the Century” — the breakup of the company into what became known as the regional Bells and a new, far smaller AT&T. That was Congress’ idea in 1890 when it passed the Sherman Act as a “comprehensive charter of economic liberty aimed at preserving free and unfettered competition as the rule of trade,” (Schlueter).
“Our Documents - Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890).” Our Documents, OurDocuments.gov, www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=51. Accessed 30 Nov. 2021.
Schlueter, Roger. “Here’s Why You Don’t Have to Worry about ‘Unicorp’ Running Everything.” Belleville News-Democrate, Belleville News-Democrate, 4 Nov. 2017, www.bnd.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/answer-man/article182686016.html.
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