Hammer v. Dagenhart
247 U.S. 251 (1918)
Facts of Case
The Federal Child Labor Act of 1916, which was designed to discourage the employment of
child labor, prohibited the shipment in interstate commerce of goods produced in factories that
employed children under the age of fourteen or permitted children under age sixteen to work
either at night or for more than eight hours a day. Dagenhart, whose sons worked in his cotton
mill, challenged the act in federal district court. When the district court invalidated the act, the
case was appealed to the Supreme Court.
Legal Issue(s)
Does Congress have the authority to regulate interstate commerce within production
factories of Child labor among the States?
Statement of Rule
Under the Commerce Clause, “Congress has the power to regulate commerce with foreign
Nations, and among the several States, and with Indian Tribes.” This does not include the power
to regulate the production of goods intended for commerce, unless by prohibition with facilities
