''United States v. American Tobacco Company'', , was a decision by the United States Supreme Court, which held that the combination in this case is one in restraint of trade and an attempt to monopolize the business of tobacco in interstate commerce within the prohibitions of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. As a result, the American Tobacco Company was split into four competitors.

Facts

Judgment

The Sherman Antitrust Act was created in 1890, and in 1907 the American Tobacco Company was indicted in violation of it.Brandt, Alan M.: ''The Cigarette Century: The Rise, Fall, and Deadly Persistence of the Product that Defined America'', p. 39. Basic Books, 2007 In 1908 when the Department of Justice filed suit against the company, sixty-five companies and twenty-nine individuals were named in the suit. The Supreme Court ordered the company to dissolve in 1911 on the same day that it ordered the

Standard Oil Trust Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...

to dissolve. The ruling in ''United States v. American Tobacco Co.'' stated that the combination of the tobacco companies "in and of itself, as well as each and all of the elements composing it whether corporate or individual, whether considered collectively or separately asin restraint of trade and an attempt to monopolize, and a monopolization within the first and second sections of the Anti-Trust Act."

Significance

In order to promote market competition, four firms were created from the American Tobacco Company's assets: American Tobacco Company,

R. J. Reynolds Richard Joshua Reynolds (July 20, 1850 – July 29, 1918) was an American businessman and founder of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. The son of a tobacco farmer, he worked for his father and attended Emory & Henry College from 1868 to 1870 ...

, Liggett & Myers, and Lorillard. The monopoly became an oligopoly. In 1938 Thurman Arnold in the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division began hosting hearings in the

Temporary National Economic Committee The Temporary National Economic Committee (TNEC) was established by a joint resolution of the United States Congress on June 16, 1938 and operated until its defunding on April 3, 1941. The TNEC's function was to study the concentration of economic p ...

to determine whether the four companies were further engaged together in monopolistic practices. , citing * * That committee found that 3 of the 4 companies were guilty of the charges presented to the court.

References

External links

* United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the White Court United States antitrust case law 1911 in United States case law United States tobacco case law {{SCOTUS-case-stub

Facts

Judgment

Significance

See also

References

Further reading

External links