John Sherman vs. Rufus Blodgett

In the mid-to-late 1800s, public demand grew for an anti-trust law. And "public demand" in this case, means a group of Americans with all the rational and disciplined thought of a lynching mob.

The Sherman Act was a bill introduced in the Senate by John Sherman (picture above right), Ohio, chairman of the finance committee and President Hayes' Secretary of the Treasury, and it passed by a vote of 52:1 on April 8, 1890. This blog's hero dissenter was Rufus Blodgett (picture below right), democrat, of Long Branch, New Jersey-- machinist, railroad supplier, banker, born in New Hampshire.

The House of Representitives passed the bill unanimously, 242:0, with one ammendment on May 1, 1890.

The bill underwent 2 months of conferences before the bill was presented to President Harrison sans the attached House ammendment. He signed it, and the bill became law on July 2, 1890.

footnote for all content above: Law and Economic Policy in America: The Evolution of the Sherman Antitrust Act by William Letwin

I believe the original version of the law contained 7 sections.
(footnote: "Abolition of Antitrust" by Gary Hull)