Supreme Court Breaks Standard Oil: Antitrust Law Born
The Supreme Court dismantles Standard Oil into thirty-four separate companies after ruling its dominance an unreasonable monopoly under the Sherman Antitrust Act. This breakup shatters a corporate stranglehold on the American oil industry, establishing a legal precedent that empowers the government to regulate and break up future monopolies.
May 15, 1911
115 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Supreme Court of the United States
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Standard Oil
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monopoly
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Sherman Antitrust Act
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Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States
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Supreme Court of the United States
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Standard Oil
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Monopoly
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Sherman Antitrust Act
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Theodore Roosevelt
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John D. Rockefeller
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