U.S. vs. Standard Oil 1911 “…The combination of the defendants in this case is an unreasonable and undue restraint of trade in petroleum and its products moving in interstate commerce, and falls within the prohibitions of the act as so construed…”

Main Idea This was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States found Standard Oil guilty of monopolizing the petroleum industry through a series of abusive and anticompetitive actions.

Point of View The court's remedy was to divide Standard Oil into several competing firms. The Government tried to eliminate monopolies because there was no competition.

Inferences/Outside Info The government sought to prosecute Standard Oil under the Sherman Antitrust Act. Over a period of decades, the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey had bought up virtually all of the oil refining companies in the United States.