DBQ

The first step to the economic expansion of the United States was the evolution of railroads to transport American goods quicker and more effectively. Railroads provided the service of connecting the mines of Wyoming to the manufacturing centers of the north. The government trying to strengthen the infrastructure began giving land grants to connect the country together with railroad lines to quicken the transportation of materials. By 1968, the government bought 131.5 million acres of land in twenty five states at an average of ten cents an acre. Democratic Congressmen J. K. Luttrell in a speech to House of Representatives said, “the result of granting or givi

With horizontal and vertical integrated companies controlling the economy by establishing monopolies, Congress enacted one last policy to regulate commerce. The goal was to stop major corporations from dictating prices so their competition would not survive. The Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 was the most effective form of regulation on commerce by federal interference though its full potential wasn’t realized until later. The creator of the bill, John Sherman, said its intent in a speech to the Senate, “It is said that this bill will interfere with lawful trade, with the customary business of life. I deny it. It only aims at unlawful combinations. It does not in the least affect combinations in aid of production where there is free and fair competition.” (Document N) The first court case involving the Sherman Anti-trust Act was US vs. E. C. Knight, where the E. C. Knight company was accused of having a monopoly of the sugar industry. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court gave his interpretation of the new law, “What the law struck was at combinations, contracts, and conspiracies to monopolize trade and com

Some topics in this essay:
House Representatives, , Commerce Commission, Supreme Court, John Sherman, Interstate Commerce, Congress American, Commerce Act, Anti-Trust Act, Document Exploitation, interstate commerce, major corporations, laissez faire, concept laissez faire, concept laissez, monopolies congress, federal action, sherman anti-trust, anti-trust act, land grants, sherman anti-trust act, speech house representatives, speech house,