[131] An elite group of businessmen dominated the boards of major banks and railroads, and they used their power to prevent competition by new companies.[132] With Wilson's support, Congressman Henry Clayton, Jr. introduced a bill that would ban several anti-competitive practices such as discriminatory pricing, tying, exclusive dealing, and interlocking directorates.[133]
As the difficulty of banning all anti-competitive practices via legislation became clear, Wilson came to back legislation that would create a new agency, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), to investigate antitrust violations and enforce antitrust laws independently of the Justice Department. With bipartisan support, Congress passed the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914, which incorporated Wilson's ideas regarding the FTC.[134] One month after signing the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914, Wilson signed the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914, which built on the Sherman Act by defining and banning several anti-competitive practices.[135]

Labor and agriculture
See also: Labor history of the United States
Official presidential portrait of Woodrow Wilson (1913)
Wilson thought a child labor law would probably be unconstitutional but reversed himself in 1916 with a close election approaching. 