The first legislation passed in the United States limiting
trusts and
monopolies. The Act prohibits agreements and collusion restricting
trade, without providing many specifics. The Act was largely unenforced against the organizations it was intended to curtail. Indeed, the Act was invoked early on to restrict
organized labor more than any other group. As a result, Congress passed the
Clayton Act in 1914 to clarify American
antitrust law. The Sherman Act has been criticized by many, notably
Ayn Rand and her followers, for unfairly and inefficiently restricting the
Invisible Hand of the
market.