Question

1. In the United States, the main purpose of antitrust legislation is to

a. protect the environment
b. increase competition in business
c. encourage the growth of monopolies
d. strengthen the rights of workers

2. After the Civil War, one way business leaders tried to eliminate competition was by
a. forming monopolies or trusts
b. developing overseas markets
c. increasing the prices of their products
d. paying high wages to their workers

Answer 1

1. ...(B) increase competition in business.

Basically, a trust is another term for a business monopoly, and antitrust legislation was designed to fight back against this kind of non-competitive behavior. Legislation like this definitely wasn't used to protect the environment, nor encourage the growth of monopolies. At the same time, it didn't necessarily strengthen the rights of workers, either, only the ability for businesses to compete against each other.

2. ...(A) forming monopolies or trusts. After the Civil War came the age of the robber barons and their monopoly on industries like railroads, steel, and oil.