mar 19, 1903 - Elkins Act (1903)

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In 1903, under the leadership of President Theodore Roosevelt, the Elkins Act was introduced to rein in the monopolistic practices of powerful railroad companies like the Northern Securities Trust. At the time, railroads were offering rebates (repaying big corporate clients who shipped an excessive amount via rail) and other special privileges to large corporations, like Standard Oil, giving them an unfair advantage over smaller businesses who didn't get refunded when shipping large quanities over rail. The Elkins Act sought to put an end to such practices, marking one of the earliest moves in Roosevelt’s broader "Square Deal" agenda, which was Roosevelt's plan to create an economy where ordinary Americans, not just the wealthy elite, could benefit from the nation's prosperity.

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