Commerce Clause

Examples of Commerce Clause in the following topics:

• Gibbons v. Ogden

  • Ogden, 22 U.S. 1 (1824), was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the power to regulate interstate commerce was granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution.
  • Supreme Court had to interpret the language of the Commerce Clause, and determine whether or not the law regulated "commerce" that was "among the several states. " The Court held that "commerce" constitutes more than mere traffic, rather, that it includes the trade of commodities, and therefore intercourse.
  • This marked the beginning of a 40-year period during which the Supreme Court limited the federal government's ability to regulate under the Interstate Commerce Clause.
  • During the 1930's, the Supreme Court changed course again and began to grant greater federal authority under the Commerce Clause, surpassing even the level of recognized authority outlined in Gibbons v.
  • However, Strict Constructionists (those who believe that the Constitution must be given the narrowest possible construction) held a different view of the meaning of the Commerce Clause as interpreted in Gibbons, arguing that it was limited in scope because the decision could be interpreted to suggest that navigation only pertained to the Commerce Clause insofar as it allowed for the interstate transportation of goods.

• Child Labor

  • Dagenhart (1918), declaring that the law violated the Commerce Clause by regulating intrastate commerce.

• The Expansion of the Federal Government

  • The Court invoked the "Necessary and Proper" clause of the Constitution, which allowed the federal government to pass laws not named in the Constitution's list of express powers, provided those laws usefully furthered the express powers of Congress under the Constitution.
  • Ogden (1824) was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court held that the power to regulate interstate commerce was granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.
  • Marshall avoided the issue of exclusivity of federal powers over commerce, claiming it was not essential to the case.
  • He held that it was a legitimate exercise of congressional power regulating interstate commerce, and therefore superseded the state law allowing the monopoly.

• Hamilton's Achievements

  • Hamilton justified the Bank and the broad scope of congressional power necessary to establish it by citing Congress' constitutional powers to issue currency, regulate interstate commerce, and enact any other legislation "necessary and proper" to enact the provisions of the Constitution.This broad view of congressional power was enshrined into legal precedent in the Supreme Court case McCulloch v.
  • His constitutional interpretation of the Necessary and Proper Clause set precedents for broad federal authority that are still upheld in courts and are considered an authority on constitutional interpretation.

• Liberty of Contract

  • In 1905 the Supreme Court used the "due process" clause in the 14th Amendment to declare unconstitutional the New York state statute imposing a limit on hours of work.
  • The creation of a strong central government able to promote science, invention, industry, and commerce was seen as an essential means to promote the general welfare and make the economy of the United States strong enough to determine the its own destiny.

• Hamilton's Legacy

  • Instead, he believed that the United States should emulate Britain's strong central political structure and encourage the growth of commerce, trade alliances, and manufacturing.
  • Hamilton justified the Bank and the broad scope of congressional power necessary to establish it by citing Congress' constitutional powers to issue currency, regulate interstate commerce, and enact any other legislation "necessary and proper" to enact the provisions of the Constitution.
  • His constitutional interpretation of the Necessary and Proper Clause set precedents for broad federal authority that are still upheld in courts and are considered an authority on constitutional interpretation.

• Enforcing the Navigation Acts

  • Within a few years, Dutch and Spanish merchants overwhelmed English merchants in commerce on the Iberian Peninsula, the Mediterranean, and the Levant.
  • Colonists could trade in their own ships with foreign plantations or European countries other than England, provided they did not violate the enumerated commodity clause.

• A New Nation

  • Hamilton also designed policies that encouraged manufacturing and commerce, leading to the growth of a wealthy, urban merchant class.
  • The Federalist-dominated Congress and President Washington approved Hamilton's policies, which broadly interpreted the powers of the federal government under the "necessary and proper" clause of the Constitution.

• The Reconstruction Amendments

  • The three main clauses of the amendment are the "Citizenship" clause, the "Due Process" clause, and the "Equal Protection" clause.
  • The "Citizenship" clause overruled the Supreme Court's 1857 Dred Scott v.
  • The "Due Process" clause prohibits state and local governments from depriving persons of life, liberty, or property without certain steps being taken to ensure fairness.
  • The "Equal Protection" clause requires each state to provide equal protection under the law to all people within its jurisdiction.
  • This clause was the basis for the 1954 Brown v.

• Legislative Change

  • Congress asserted its authority to legislate under several different parts of the United States Constitution, principally its power to regulate interstate commerce under Article One (section 8), its duty to guarantee all citizens equal protection of the laws under the Fourteenth Amendment and its duty to protect voting rights under the Fifteenth Amendment.
  • Historians speculate that Smith was trying to embarrass northern Democrats who opposed civil rights for women because the clause was opposed by labor unions.