Which statement best explains why laissez-faire economic theory gained political clout in the late 19th century?

Which statement best explains why laissez-faire economic theory gained political clout in the late 19th century?

• A. The Supreme Court increasingly protected labor.
• B. The Supreme Court increasingly protected business.
• C. Businessmen bribed Congress to stay out of their affairs.
• D. Partisan gridlock prevented agreement on laissez-faire.

Answer: (B)

In the late 19th century, laissez-faire economics gained political clout largely because the Supreme Court moved to protect business interests, making it politically safer to push for minimal government intervention. The Court tended to strengthen property rights and contract, and it recognized corporate power in ways that limited the reach of regulators and state laws aimed at controlling prices, monopolies, or labor practices. This pro-business judicial climate gave industrialists and financiers confidence to expand with less fear of legal constraint, which in turn reinforced and spread laissez-faire arguments in politics and policy. While other factors like labor tensions or political gridlock existed, the legal backing from the Supreme Court was the key reason laissez-faire ideas could gain traction and legitimacy.

In the late 19th century, laissez-faire economics gained political clout largely because the Supreme Court moved to protect business interests, making it politically safer to push for minimal government intervention. The Court tended to strengthen property rights and contract, and it recognized corporate power in ways that limited the reach of regulators and state laws aimed at controlling prices, monopolies, or labor practices. This pro-business judicial climate gave industrialists and financiers confidence to expand with less fear of legal constraint, which in turn reinforced and spread laissez-faire arguments in politics and policy. While other factors like labor tensions or political gridlock existed, the legal backing from the Supreme Court was the key reason laissez-faire ideas could gain traction and legitimacy.