United States v. American Tobacco Co.
United States v. American Tobacco Company, 221 U.S. 106 (1911), 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.
| United States v. American Tobacco Co. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued January 3–6, 1910 Reargued January 9–12, 1911 Decided May 29, 1911 | |
| Full case name | United States v. American Tobacco Company |
| Citations | 221 U.S. 106 (more) 31 S. Ct. 632; 55 L. Ed. 663 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Appeals from the Circuit Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York |
| Holding | |
| 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. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | White, joined by McKenna, Holmes, Day, Lurton, Hughes, Van Devanter, Lamar |
| Concur/dissent | Harlan |
| Laws applied | |
| Sherman Antitrust Act | |
Facts
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2013) |
Judgment
editThe Sherman Antitrust Act was created in 1890, and in 1907 the American Tobacco Company was indicted in violation of it.[1] 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 to dissolve.[1] 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 [was] in restraint of trade and an attempt to monopolize, and a monopolization within the first and second sections of the Anti-Trust Act."[2]
Significance
editIn order to promote market competition, four firms were created from the American Tobacco Company's assets: American Tobacco Company, R. J. Reynolds, Liggett & Myers, and Lorillard. The monopoly became an oligopoly.[3]
In 1938 Thurman Arnold in the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division began hosting hearings in the Temporary National Economic Committee to determine whether the four companies were further engaged together in monopolistic practices.[4] That committee found that 3 of the 4 companies were guilty of the charges presented to the court.[4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Brandt, Alan M.: The Cigarette Century: The Rise, Fall, and Deadly Persistence of the Product that Defined America, p. 39. Basic Books, 2007
- ^ Jenkins, John Wilber: James B. Duke: Master Builder, p. 153. George H. Doran Company, 1927.
- ^ Brandt, Alan M. (2007). The Cigarette Century: The Rise, Fall, and Deadly Persistence of the Product that Defined America. New York: Basic Books. p. 41. ISBN 9780465070473.
- ^ a b
Silber, Norman Isaac (1983). Test and protest. New York: Holmes & Meier: Holmes and Meier. pp. 52–53. ISBN 0841907498., citing
- Consumer Reports: 229–232. September 1941.
{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - U.S. v. American Tobacco Company, et al., Temporary National Economic Committee Monograph, XXI (United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky July 24, 1940).
- Consumer Reports: 229–232. September 1941.
Further reading
edit- Porter, Patrick G. (1969). "Origins of the American Tobacco Company". Business History Review. 43 (1). The President and Fellows of Harvard College: 59–76. doi:10.2307/3111987. JSTOR 3111987. S2CID 145351728.
- Sobel, Robert (1974). "James Buchanan Duke: Opportunism Is the Spur". The Entrepreneurs: Explorations Within the American Business Tradition. New York: Weybright & Talley. ISBN 0-679-40064-8.
External links
edit- Text of United States v. American Tobacco Co., 221 U.S. 106 (1910) is available from: CourtListener Google Scholar Justia Library of Congress OpenJurist
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