Editing Federal Trade Commission (section)

=== Early history ===
In the aftermath of the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]]'s landmark decision in ''[[Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States]]'' in 1911,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Fayne|first=James A.|date=1915|title=The Federal Trade Commission: The Development of the Law which led to its Establishment|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S000305540000945X/type/journal_article|journal=American Political Science Review|language=en|volume=9|issue=1|pages=57–67|doi=10.2307/1945762|jstor=1945762 |s2cid=146939544 |issn=0003-0554}}</ref> the first version of a bill to establish a commission to regulate interstate trade was introduced on January 25, 1912, by Oklahoma congressman [[Dick Thompson Morgan]]. He would make the first speech on the House floor advocating its creation on February 21, 1912.

Though the initial bill did not pass, the questions of trusts and antitrust dominated the 1912 election.<ref name="FTC hist">[http://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/ftc-90-symposium/90thanniv_program.pdf A Brief History of the Federal Trade Commission], Federal Trade Commission, 90th Anniversary Symposium.</ref> Most political party platforms in 1912 endorsed the establishment of a federal trade commission with its regulatory powers placed in the hands of an administrative board, as an alternative to functions previously and necessarily exercised so slowly through the courts.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140301021630/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=29633 Republican Party Platform of 1912], June 18, 1912; [https://web.archive.org/web/20140301022828/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=29590 Democratic Party Platform of 1912], June 25, 1912; USCB.edu</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20111117204056/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/tr-progressive/ Platform of the Progressive Party], August 7, 1912; PBS.</ref>

With the [[1912 United States presidential election|1912 presidential election]] decided in favor of the Democrats and [[Woodrow Wilson]], Morgan reintroduced a slightly amended version of his bill during the April 1913 special session. The national debate culminated in Wilson's signing of the FTC Act on September 26, 1914, with additional tightening of regulations in the [[Clayton Antitrust Act]] three weeks later.

The new FTC would absorb the staff and duties of [[Bureau of Corporations]], previously established under the [[Department of Commerce and Labor]] in 1903. The FTC could additionally challenge "unfair methods of competition" and enforce the Clayton Act's more specific prohibitions against certain price discrimination, vertical arrangements, [[interlocking directorate]]s, and stock acquisitions.<ref name="FTC hist" />{{Secondary source needed|date=August 2024}}