Research Paper "The Antitrust Laws"Once upon a time there was a time when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Some dinosaurs were stronger than others, making them superior creatures. The Tyrannosaurus Rex isn't all that different from a corporate empire; both T-Rexes and monopolies ruled the country with little to no competition. They devoured the weak, crushed the opposition and ensured that they became kings, but then, suddenly, they became extinct. The giants that were once predators have become prey, whether it be a natural disaster or Antitrust laws no longer had control over everything. Antitrust laws have had a positive impact on American society by limiting monopolies; ensure that no single company can control a market, then use that power to exploit customers, protect the public from price fixing, and produce innovative, higher-quality new products through competition. Had the “dinosaurs” that ran the country in the early 20th century stopped, JPMorgan, Andrew Carnegie and Rockefeller would no longer have as much of a grip on the country as they once did. They all had problems building their huge empires, JPMorgan, Andrew Carnegie and Rockefeller all had monopolies on one or more products, JPMorgan was a financial banker who controlled electrical, railroad and steel businesses, acquired the steel monopoly from Andrew Carnegie, and Rockefeller controlled nearly all of the oil business, producing petroleum products such as kerosene and gasoline. Antitrust laws would no longer allow large companies like theirs to grow and conquer as they did before. The lower class of the late 18th and early 19th centuries lived in the filth and poverty that monopolies had created through price fixing... middle of paper... loit customers, protecting the public from price fixing, and produce new, innovative and superior products through competition. Without these acts there would be more poverty than the United States would know what to do with, thus making the acts, although created 100 years ago, still one of the most important acts in American history. Work Cited Letwint, William L. "Congress and the Sherman Antitrust Act: 1887-1890." Jstor: University of Chicago Law Journal. Np, nd Web. March 31, 2014. Lowenstein, Roger. “When Titans Tie the Knot.” Wall Street Journal. February 14, 2014: A13. eLibrary. Network. March 28, 2014. "Monopolies and combinations in the restraint of trade." US code collection. Np: np, nd No. page Press. March 28, 2014."The antitrust laws." Protection of American consumers. Federal Trade Commission, nd Print. March 28. 2014.