Answer:
The Sherman Act is the first antitrust law in the United States to proclaim a crime to prevent the freedom of trade by creating a trust and conspire with such a purpose. The act obliged federal prosecutors to prosecute such criminal associations and imposed fines, confiscations, and prison sentences of up to 10 years.
Sherman’s act was not directed against trusts as such, but against obvious restrictions on freedom of trade (both between US states and international) - including, personally, against John Rockefeller and his Standard Oil.
