Praxis II Citizenship

Answer: D - Antitrust laws are enacted to prevent corporations from restricting competition in the marketplace, which companies generally achieve by establishing monopolies. While merging with other corporations can potentially lead to antitrust violations, the government does not intervene in all mergers because many mergers do not result in monopolies. The most notable antitrust laws are the Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Acts. The Sherman Antitrust Act, signed by President Benjamin Harrison in 1890, aimed to regulate any corporate act that might restrict free trade or competition, including the establishment of monopolies or price fixing. The Clayton Antitrust Act, signed by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914, mostly strengthened the provisions of the Sherman Antitrust Act, in addition to allowing the government to regulate dual company directorships (when one person serves as the director of rival companies thereby creating a personal rather than a corporate monopoly).