Capper–Volstead Act

Capper–Volstead Act

Long title	An Act To authorize association of producers of agricultural products.
Enacted by	the 67th United States Congress
Citations
Public law	Pub.L. 67–146
Statutes at Large	Sess. II, ch. 57, 42 Stat. 388–389
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 2373 by Andrew Volstead (R–MN) on ? Committee consideration by ? Passed the House on May 4, 1921 (295-49) Passed the Senate on February 8, 1922 (58-1) with amendment House agreed to Senate amendment on February 11, 1922 (276-8) Signed into law by President Warren G. Harding on February 18, 1922
United States Supreme Court cases
Case-Swayne Co. v. Sunkist Growers, Inc., 389 U.S. 384 (1967) National Broiler Marketing Assn. v. U.S, 436 U.S. 816 (1978)

Capper–Volstead Act (P.L. 67-146), the Co-operative Marketing Associations Act (7 U.S.C. 291, 292) was adopted by the United States Congress on February 18, 1922. It gave “associations” of persons producing agricultural products certain exemptions from antitrust laws. It is sometimes called the Magna Carta of cooperatives.^[1]

Origins[]

The law was passed in response to challenges made against cooperatives using the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.), the Clayton Antitrust Act (15 U.S.C. 12 et seq.), and the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.). As a consequence of the depression of agricultural prices subsequent to World War I, farm organizations intensified their drive for government aid and managed to get a established in Congress. Senator Arthur Capper was a member of this bloc and the Capper–Volstead Act was a part of the farm legislative program. (The law carries the names of its sponsors, Senator Arthur Capper of Kansas and Representative Andrew Volstead of Minnesota.)

Content[]

The act authorized various kinds of agricultural producers to form voluntary co-operative associations for purposes of producing, handling and marketing farm products - that is, it exempted such associations from the application of the antitrust laws. The United States Secretary of Agriculture was given power, on his own motion, to prevent such associations from achieving and maintaining monopolies. He could hold hearings, determine facts and issue orders ultimately subject to review by federal district courts.

References[]

• Dictionary of American History by James Truslow Adams, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940
• CRS Report for Congress: Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition - Order Code 97-905

External links[]

• US Code Title 7, Section 291 & 292 (from GPOaccess.gov)
• The Capper-Volstead Act: Opportunity Today and Tomorrow / In Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the Capper-Volstead Act by Donald M. Barnes and Christopher E. Ondeck—a paper on the Act from the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives site