(1)
The United States became a rich industrial nation toward the end of 1800s. There were more goods, more services, more jobs, and a higher standard of living. There was more of everything, including problems. One problem was monopoly, that is, to be the only seller of a certain line of products or a service. In some cases, several companies that manufactured the same product would agree not to compete with one another. They would all agree to charge the same price. These arrangements made it impossible for customers to shop around for lower prices for certain products.