Northern Securities Co. v. United States
| Northern Securities Co. v. United States | |
|---|---|
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| Argued December 14–15, 1903 Decided March 14, 1904 |
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| Full case name | Northern Securities Company, et al., Apts. v. United States |
| Citations | 193 U.S. 197 (more) |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Harlan, joined by Day, Brown, McKenna |
| Concurrence | Brewer |
| Dissent | Holmes, joined by Fuller, White, Peckham |
| Laws applied | |
| Sherman Antitrust Act | |
Northern Securities Co. v. United States, 193 U.S. 197 (1904), was a case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1903. The Court ruled 5 to 4 against the stockholders of the Great Northern and Northern Pacific railroad companies, who had essentially formed a monopoly, and to dissolve the Northern Securities Company.
In 1904, James Jerome Hill, president of and the largest stockholder in the Great Northern Railway, won the financial support of J. P. Morgan and attempted to take over the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q). The Burlington served a traffic-rich region of the Midwest and Great Plains, was well-managed, and quite profitable. It possessed a finely-engineered line connecting the Twin Cities to the nation's rail center of Chicago, which made it particularly attractive as an addition to Hill's Great Northern.
Hill's strategy was for his railroad and Morgan's Northern Pacific Railway to jointly buy the CB&Q. However, Edward Henry Harriman, president of the Union Pacific Railroad and the Southern Pacific Railroad, also wanted to buy the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy. Harriman demanded a one-third interest in the CB&Q, but Hill refused him. Harriman then began to buy up Northern Pacific's stock, forcing Hill and Morgan to counter by purchasing more stock as well. Northern Pacific's stock price skyrocketed, and the artificially high stock threatened to cause a crash on the . Hill and Morgan were ultimately successful in obtaining more Northern Pacific stock than Harriman and won control of not only the Northern Pacific but also the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy.
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