Mann-Elkins Act enhanced the Interstate Commerce Commission by what?

Mann-Elkins Act enhanced the Interstate Commerce Commission by what?

• A. Strengthening rate-setting powers and extending regulatory authority to telephone and telegraph
• B. Deregulating railroads
• C. Abolishing the ICC
• D. Creating the Federal Trade Commission

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is how the Mann‑Elkins Act expanded federal regulation of commerce by broadening the Interstate Commerce Commission’s powers. This act strengthened the commission’s ability to set and challenge railroad rates and, for the first time on a wide scale, extended its regulatory reach to telecommunications, specifically the telephone and telegraph industries. This reflects the era’s drive to curb railroad abuses and bring growing communications networks under federal oversight. Why this is the best match: before this act, the ICC regulated railroads but had limited tools and scope, especially with rapid changes in transportation and the rise of modern communications. By giving the ICC stronger rate-setting authority and extending its reach to telephone and telegraph, the act directly expands both regulatory power and jurisdiction, aligning with Progressive Era aims to curb monopolistic practices and increase federal oversight. The other options don’t fit because the act did not deregulate railroads, abolish the ICC, or create the Federal Trade Commission (the FTC was established later, in 1914).

The main idea here is how the Mann‑Elkins Act expanded federal regulation of commerce by broadening the Interstate Commerce Commission’s powers. This act strengthened the commission’s ability to set and challenge railroad rates and, for the first time on a wide scale, extended its regulatory reach to telecommunications, specifically the telephone and telegraph industries. This reflects the era’s drive to curb railroad abuses and bring growing communications networks under federal oversight.

Why this is the best match: before this act, the ICC regulated railroads but had limited tools and scope, especially with rapid changes in transportation and the rise of modern communications. By giving the ICC stronger rate-setting authority and extending its reach to telephone and telegraph, the act directly expands both regulatory power and jurisdiction, aligning with Progressive Era aims to curb monopolistic practices and increase federal oversight.

The other options don’t fit because the act did not deregulate railroads, abolish the ICC, or create the Federal Trade Commission (the FTC was established later, in 1914).