Why did some American big businesses threaten the free enterprise?

Answer 1

So that they would not be threatened and make more money themselves Before there were government organizations such as the SEC, (securities and exchange commission ), the Federal Reserve Bank of NY, and anti trust laws regarding various business regulations, some large US Industries came close to monopolizing various areas of the economy.

One example of this were the business activities of John D. Rockefeller. Not to single this man out or discredit him in any way, I use him of an example of what I believe the question infers. Here then is an example of how a large company, created within the free enterprise system, came close to help undermine the very system that allowed Rockefeller to prosper which are as follows:

A. Rockefeller's main company was the Standard Oil Company;

B. Along with partners, Rockefeller, bought more oil refineries and the railroads connecting them together and to marketing regions;

C. In 1872, Standard Oil bought 20 other oil related companies;

D. Based on his aggressive business tactics, which at the time were legal, Rockefeller created a Standard Oil Trust, which housed the majority of the oil businesses in America; and

E. Base on the 1890 Sherman Anti trust Act, a Federal Court ordered that the Rockefeller Trust needed to divest itself of companies that effectively monopolized the oil industry in America.