The Interstate Commerce Act ( 1877 ) is a United States federal law that was designed to regulate railroad industry.
Prior to this act, in many regions of the USA a single company enjoyed the monopoly of railroad transportation, thus dictating their conditions and prices. Many felt this practice was unfair and discriminatory.
The Interstate Commerce act was designed to prevent unjust discrimination by the railroads. It prohibited the pooling of traffic and profits, short haul or long haul fare discrimination and required that railroads to publicize their rates.
By regulating the railroads, the railroads became subject to competition and fairer prices for transporting people/goods were established. To supervise the enforcement of the law, Interstate Commerce Commission was founded.
