LAD # 28 Clayton Anti-Trust Act

The Clayton Anti-Trust Act was set in place in order for the government to get a grip on regulating business. It was passed by Woodrow Wilson's administration after introduced by Alabama Democrat Henry De Lamar Clayton, Jr. This act helped set the base of the regulation of business done by the government today. Earlier in the past, the Sherman anti-Trust act was the only way the government could control big businesses.Theodore Roosevelt used the act to become America's first trust buster. The Clayton Anti-trust Act, passed alongside the Federal Trade Commission Act, was used to control the behaviors of large corporations that are not enforced under law. The major difference between the Clayton Anti-Trust Act and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act is that the Clayton Act can not be used against labor unions. The Sherman Anti-trust act was used to threaten labor unions such as the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor. One of very few companies exempt from the Clayton Anti-Trust Act was Major League Baseball due to its national heritage. With the new anti-trust act in place, labor unions could be formed and boycotts, picketing, and strikes were permitted without the threat of interference with the government.