The Interlocking Directorates: The Supreme Court Case Analysis

Beginning in 1871, several states passed laws controlling railroad freight. The railroads fought the Granger Laws, in federal court, where they were ruled unconstitutional. The railroads regularly used rebates and drawbacks to help win the business of large shippers, and made up this loss in profit by increasing the cost to smaller shippers such as farmers. As a result, many farmers, already hurt by the depression in agriculture, were ruined. These farmers were hurt by the unfair practices of the railroad enterprise.

The political cartoon analyzes the branches of government using football as a metaphor to show checks and balances that limit the power of the government. Furthermore, checks and balances work for the U.S. government because powers are delegated to each branch and the checks allow for equity among the branches. In the cartoon, the legislative branch and the executive branch are playing against each other while the judicial branch is the referee. In document one, Congress has the power to write laws, but the president can veto the bills that Congress proposes. Thus, the powers balance out the branches’ powers, which keeps them in a tight line of what they are allowed to do. Also, the President appoints judges, but Congress can reject them. They

Morgan brought interlocking directorates into business. Interlocking directorates is when the majority of members on boards are the same. Therefore you’d only have one group of people to manage both companies. The reason that is unfair, is because, well there was only one power controlling what needed the control of two. The main goal was to eliminate wasteful competition by sending officers to the companies that he wished to control. In Document C Vanderbilt says “The railroads are not run for the benefit of the “dear public”-that cry is all nonsense.” The working class were still being paid lower, so they didn’t stand a chance. Nothing was for the benefits of the laborers. Especially with Carnegie’s policies which called for low wages. You can see in Document I the difference between the value of products and the wage of the workers. The chart speaks for itself. The only ones who were benefitting from these monopolies were the Robber

The Grange defined itself as non-partisan. However, as Grange membership boomed in the 1870s, Midwestern and western Grangers moved toward political action. New political parties emerged in eleven states, usually called "Granger Parties." They demanded state legislation to prohibit railroad rate discrimination. Other groups, especially merchants, also sought such laws, but the resulting state laws, most dating to 1872-1874, were usually called Granger laws. When the constitutionality of such regulation was challenged, the Supreme Court ruled, in Munn v Illinois (1877), that businesses with "a public interest," including warehouses and railroads, "must submit to be controlled by the public for the common good. The Grange reached its zenith in

The Sherman Anti-trust Act in1890 aimed to stop monopolies from their unfair practices: The standard oil company being one of the government’s first attempts to stop. The government’s actions demonstrated their attitude towards monopolies. “ In 1887, congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act, which outlawed railroad rebates and kickbacks and also established the Interstate Commerce Commission to ensure that railroad companies obeyed the new laws” (“Sherman”). Both the Sherman Anti-trust and Interstate Commerce Acts were established to minimize the control monopolies had over the economy.

This became known as the Munn vs. Illinois case, in which the Granger family too action and formed laws to protect them and the common people from the corruption and abuse from the railroad industry. These Granger laws basically stated that the federal government should establish a set passenger and freight rate, and make it illegal to discriminate against anyone. After many debates, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Grangers, giving states the power to regulate railroads that went through their state, protecting the common people from abuse. Along with this, this decision officially set up government regulation over industries, to ensure they are working in the people’s interests. With this new power, the federal government decided that they wanted to have full regulation, and not have the states regulated anything. To ensure this, they nullified the Granger laws and passed the new Interstate Commerce Act in the year 1877. This gave the federal government full regulation of the railroad network throughout the entire nation, and a five person Committee would be responsible for doing

During the depression of the 1870s, farmers protested against railroaders who ran the farmers into bankruptcy. Many Midwestern legislatures tried to regulate the railroad monopoly. In 1887, Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act. It prohibited rebates and pools, required the railroads to publish their rates openly, forbade unfair discrimination against shippers, and outlawed charging more for a short trip than for a long trip over the same line. It also created the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to administer and enforce the new legislation. The new laws provided a forum where competing businesses could resolve their conflicts in peaceful ways (instead of engaging in price wars). Congress passed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of

The three tiers of the American federal court system consists of the Supreme Court, District courts which are also referred to trial courts, Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the Supreme Court.

There are three different branches in the government. In these six different scenarios that were given in this prompt. The legislative branch represents the Congress. The congress is led by the House of Representatives and the Senate. What these two figures in this branch do is make the laws of the state. They have the power to pass laws, agree on treaties, and originate on spending bills. In the Executive Branch, it is represented by the president. In this branch the President has the power to propose laws, is in charge of the military, and has the right to veto laws. Last but not least the Judicial Branch, is represented by Federal Judges. They are appointed by the president and confirmed by the senate. In other words the Judicial Branch enforces the laws and makes sure people are following them as they should be (Branch, no date ).

In the late 1800's, farmers believed that the railroad companies were strangling away their profits and the government was in favor of big business thus justifying their feelings of discontent.". The farmers had every right to be upset about their situation because the government saw a need for reform which alludes to the fact that problems existed, the railroads had a monopoly on shipping which raised costs and affected profit margins, the value of crops had deflated, and big business was hostile towards farmers.

Many years ago, before courts existed matters was handled in a privately or informally. This often led to violence and unjust treatment of innocent people. During the rise of the Greek City States and the Roman Empire law enforcement became a public affair instead of private. (Siegel, Schmalleger, & Worral, 2011). Along with this movement became formalized courts and other criminal justice institutions. This allowed for law enforcement matters to be handled in a more civilized manner for resolving human conflict.

I favor judicial restraint because It means that they can’t make new laws. This is so that they have to follow past rules and it makes it so that they can’t make new ones based on some of their personal beliefs. I think I am optimistic about America having a great future. I think we are on the right path and with a couple of good tweaks we can make a big step forward. America is really great right now but we are in decline so with a lot of support and the right president we can turn this country around. We are doing pretty good but things like our economy and other things need to be fixed due to horrible presidents in the past. I believe we can fix everything in America and become even better. I think we are all in this together as Americans

There are three women on the Supreme Court, one of whom is Latina, and there is one black justice serving on the Supreme Court (Brown, 2016). This is a major issue. The United States, the “melting pot”, has an extreme lack of diversity in their court system. This is an issue that affects several aspects of society. Decisions made by judges will affect the lives of men, women, and their families. The decisions made by judges can also create law. Unlike political officials, the people do not always have the power to vote judges into their positions. Instead, the people hope that their peers with the power to affect the system choose a candidate that will fight for them. Often times, this does not happen.

Their campaign for government regulation of the railroad led to their most significant victory. In 1877, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Granger cause in Munn v. Illinois. In this case it upheld the power of the states to regulate the rates of railroads and other businesses since their conduct affected the community at large. This shows a departure from the prevalent laissez-faire economics of the time and sets precedent for government regulation of business.

People with money have a greater chance to win or get lower sentences compared to poor families.