Abstract This paper explores and discusses several laws the United States government created to further fair, balanced, and competitive business practices. The laws discussed are the antitrust laws, which this paper will break down and explain. This paper will explain the research done to explain why the antitrust laws were put in place and how they affect the business world. In the United Stated there are several laws that are used and intended to further fair, balanced, and competitive practices. These laws are called the antitrust laws. They consist of the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act. These Acts or laws are used to keep businesses competitive and prices at a fair and reasonable cost to consumers.(Bovee and Thill,2014) Many individuals questions whether these laws are effective and if so how? To answer that question, one must first understand the antitrust acts and what that is meant to do. There are three major Federal antitrust laws: The Sherman Antitrust Act, The Clayton Act, and The Federal Trade Commission Act. The Sherman Antitrust Act which was enacted in 1890 was created to stop competitors from fixing prices, rigging bids, and dividing up customers (Bovee and Thill). The Act made it illegal for competitors to work together or agree through contracts, combining companies and conspiracies to control a similar industry, also called a monopoly. Competitors violating the Sherman Act are punished by the Department of Justice as criminal felonies. As a maximum sentence individual can be sentenced to 10 years in prison and a million dollar fine, and companies a one hundred billion dollars fine (Antitrust Enforcement and the Consumer (n.d.)). The Clayton Act enacted in 1914, which was then amended in 1950. This act was created to prevent companies from lessening competition through mergers and acquisitions. If certain mergers or acquisitions look as if they will interrupt the competition of a product or service and raise consumer prices, the Government may step in and challenge them. Also any individual or company seeking a merger or acquisition that’s meets certain size