The Archive
Reference Library
The founding document as written, a plain overview of the seven Articles, and a glossary of archaic and legal terms.
Economic & Financial Regulation
Clayton Antitrust Act
Enacted: 1914
Woodrow Wilson
Strengthened the Sherman Act by outlawing specific anticompetitive practices and exempting labor unions from antitrust liability.
Signed by Woodrow Wilson on October 15, 1914, the Clayton Act plugged loopholes in the Sherman Act by prohibiting specific practices — price discrimination, tying arrangements, exclusive dealing, and mergers that substantially lessen competition. Section 6 famously declared that 'the labor of a human being is not a commodity or article of commerce,' exempting union activity from antitrust suits and reversing years of hostile injunctions. The same Congress created the Federal Trade Commission to enforce the new competition rules. Together with the Sherman Act, the Clayton Act frames modern merger review and antitrust litigation.