= Clayton Act = The '''Clayton Act''', passed in 1914, is an [[UnitedStates/CommerceLaw/AntitrustLaw|anti-trust law]]. <> ---- == Description == The Clayton Act seals several loopholes of the [[UnitedStates/CommerceLaw/ShermanAct|Sherman Act]]. Chiefly it addresses holding companies, mergers, and aquisitions. A '''holding company''' is a company that is established to own shares in other companies. These were increasingly seen as a loophole around monopolies. This act outlaws acquisitions which substantially decrease competition or tend towards a monopoly. The act also outlaws individuals from having control over competing businesses. ---- == History == The Clayton Act was named after the congressman who whote the bill and introduced it into [[UnitedStates/HouseOfRepresentatives|Congress]], ''Henry De Lamar Clayton Jr.'' (AL-3). It was written in the context of the '''Commission on Industrial Relations''', which had been authorized in the last months of the [[UnitedStates/WilliamHowardTaft|Taft]] administration and was proceeding rapidly under the [[UnitedStates/WoodrowWilson|Wilson]] administration. This act was passed and signed into law alongside the [[UnitedStates/CommerceLaw/FederalTradeCommissionAct|Federal Trade Commission Act]], under Democratic control of both Congress and the White House. The Clayton Act was amended several times, principally by the [[UnitedStates/CommerceLaw/RobinsonPatmanAct|Robinson-Patman Act]] in 1936 and the [[UnitedStates/CommerceLaw/HartScottRodinoAntitrustImprovementsAct|Hart–Scott–Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act]] in 1976. ---- CategoryRicottone