http://www.civics-online.org/library/formatted/texts/sherman_antitrust.html

In the 1880s, the people of American were worrying about trusts. Trusts were business that combined so they could reduce competition and control prices. Because of that, in 1890, President Harrison, along with Congress, passed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. They then went after companies like Standard Oil and the U.S. Steel Corporation.