Briefly describe the historical background that gave rise to antitrust and regulation in the United States

What will be an ideal response?

The history of antitrust and regulation essentially began in the decades following the Civil War. It was in this period that the modern form of corporate business began to develop and “trusts” or monopolies were formed in industries such as petroleum, meatpacking, railroads, sugar, lead, coal, whiskey, and tobacco. Questionable tactics and business practices were used by some of these trusts to monopolize industries and extract price concessions from resource suppliers. Farmers and small business were vulnerable to the pricing power of the large trusts. The opinions of consumers, labor unions, and economists also turned against the economic power of the trusts and large businesses that dominated an industry.