Which bureau within the Department of Commerce and Labor was created to investigate businesses engaged in interstate commerce?

Which bureau within the Department of Commerce and Labor was created to investigate businesses engaged in interstate commerce?

• A. Bureau of Corporations
• B. Board of Trade
• C. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• D. Bureau of Customs

Answer: (A)

During the Progressive Era, the federal government began creating agencies to study how big businesses operated across state lines. The Bureau of Corporations, created in 1903 within the Department of Commerce and Labor, was tasked specifically with investigating businesses engaged in interstate commerce and reporting on their practices. This role—investigating and issuing findings about corporate behavior—made it the best answer. The Bureau of Labor Statistics focuses on labor data, not corporate investigations. The Bureau of Customs, part of the Treasury, handles tariffs at the border, not general interstate corporate practices. A Board of Trade served more as an advisory or commercial body rather than a federal investigative agency within this department. The investigations conducted by the Bureau of Corporations helped reveal monopolistic practices and fed into arguments for stronger federal regulation, laying groundwork for the later creation of the Federal Trade Commission in 1914.

During the Progressive Era, the federal government began creating agencies to study how big businesses operated across state lines. The Bureau of Corporations, created in 1903 within the Department of Commerce and Labor, was tasked specifically with investigating businesses engaged in interstate commerce and reporting on their practices. This role—investigating and issuing findings about corporate behavior—made it the best answer. The Bureau of Labor Statistics focuses on labor data, not corporate investigations. The Bureau of Customs, part of the Treasury, handles tariffs at the border, not general interstate corporate practices. A Board of Trade served more as an advisory or commercial body rather than a federal investigative agency within this department. The investigations conducted by the Bureau of Corporations helped reveal monopolistic practices and fed into arguments for stronger federal regulation, laying groundwork for the later creation of the Federal Trade Commission in 1914.