The Interstate Commerce Act was passed in 1887, becoming the first act that made an industry subject to Federal regulation. The act aimed to oversee and regulate the railroad operations, which at the time held a monopoly and had been deemed as abusive and unjust by many farmers. To accomplish such goal, the Act created the Interstate Commerce Commission, a federal regulatory agency that began to impose several measures such as requiring the railroad industry to have reasonable and just shipping rates and to have these rates published and it banned price discrimination against small markets.
By 1900 the United States had overtaken Britain in manufacturing, producing 24 percent of the world's output. After 1870 both Russia and Japan were forced by losing wars to abolish their feudal systems and to compete in the industrializing world.
