Which U.S. Supreme Court case ordered the dissolution of Standard Oil in 1911?

The Supreme Court case that ordered Standard Oil’s dissolution in 1911 was Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States.

Decided on May 15, 1911, the case concerned the enormous petroleum organization controlled through Standard Oil of New Jersey. The federal government argued that Standard had used its size, acquisitions, transportation arrangements, and commercial practices to restrain trade and maintain a monopoly.

The Court ruled that Standard Oil violated the Sherman Antitrust Act and ordered the company’s holdings separated. The breakup produced dozens of successor companies, including businesses that later became associated with Exxon, Mobil, and Chevron. The decision also introduced the influential “rule of reason,” under which only unreasonable restraints of trade violate the Sherman Act.

The Sherman Antitrust Act was the statute used in the case, not the case’s name. Likewise, the Clayton Antitrust Act was a later 1914 law. “United States v. Standard Oil” reverses the usual case-title order and is not the canonical name of this Supreme Court decision.