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The history of the Clayton Antitrust Act goes back over 20 years prior to passage of the law. In an effort to prevent anticompetitive practices, Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. This was the first Federal law outlawing practices that were harmful to consumers and looked to prevent or curtail monopolies, cartels, and trusts. One of the consequences of that law was a wave of mergers and impacts on Labor.
Then came the Pujo Committee, a congressional subcommittee of the House Committee on Banking and Currency that was formed to investigate the so-called "money trust" that held hearings in 1912 and 1913. The findings of the investigation led to several changes including the ratification of the 16th Amendment, the passage of the Federal Reserve Act, and a movement to further strengthen antitrust laws.
Representative Henry De Lamar Clayton Jr. a Democrat from Alabama introduced H. R. 15657, the Clayton Antitrust Act (Pub.L. 63–212, 38 Stat. 730) in 1914 as An Act To supplement existing laws against unlawful restraints and monopolies, and for other purposes.
It sought to prevent anticompetitive practices even earlier by targeting price discrimination, limit further mergers & acquisitions, and limit membership on boards of companies in particular situations. The Act also had a provision for any contemplated mergers and acquisitions in certain situations. The Law was passed on October 08, 1914.
The Sherman Antitrust Act, the Clayton, and the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 are the foundation of antitrust laws in the United States and are codified in Title 15 of the United States Code. Later revisions to antitrust law came with the passage of the Robinson-Patman Act of 1936 and Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (PDF, 2.5 MB).
The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to digital content are provided when available.
"Potential Competition and the American Antitrust Legislation of 1914" in Business History Review by 
Amendments to Sherman antitrust law and related matters. Hearings before subcommittees of the committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, together with briefs and memoranda submitted in connection therewith during the sixtieth, sixty-first, and sixt by An analysis of the labor union, injunction and contempt sections of the Clayton anti-trust bill by Antitrust and Regulation During World War 1 and the Republican Era, 1917-1932 by Money trust investigation. Investigation of financial and monetary conditions in the United States under House resolutions nos.429 and 504, before a subcommittee of the Committee on Banking and Currency by The following resources created and digitized by the Library of Congress can be used to find out more about the debate and passage of the Clayton Antitrust Act as well as the events of the day.
Chronicling America, Historic American Newspapers
Congressional Record
Federal Reserve Act SignedThe links below provide more information on the Black Monday crash from sources available on the Internet.
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Volumes 144 (1998) and prior are made available as digitized versions of the Congressional Record (Bound Edition) created as a result of a partnership between GPO and the Library of Congress. These volumes include all parts of the official printed edition.
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