Final answer:
True, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act prohibits companies from monopolizing a particular market, aiming to preserve free competition and prevent anticompetitive practices.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Sherman Anti-Trust Act, passed in 1890, indeed prohibits companies from monopolizing a particular market. It was designed to combat anticompetitive practices, reduce market domination by individual companies, and preserve free trade. This federal law granted the government the power to regulate and dissolve corporations that formed monopolies or engaged in any behavior that interfered with free and fair competition.
One of the most notable uses of the Act was the breakup of Standard Oil in 1911, which controlled a vast majority of the oil refining market. For subsequent decades and into the twenty-first century, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice have continued to enforce this and other antitrust laws, like the Clayton Antitrust Act and the Celler-Kefauver Act, to ensure competitive markets.