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Introduction
The commerce clause is a written part of the United States Constitution. Written in 1787,
ratified in 1788, and still in effect. The main purpose of the commerce clause was to
regulate the flow of goods from one destination to another. When the clause was first
introduced it gave congress the ultimate power of regulation trade and the flow of goods.
However, several business owners filed lawsuits challenging the powers of congress to
regulate the flow of goods. These lawsuits helped established new guidelines to who had
the power to regulate the flow of goods. In this paper I will talks about the guidelines of
the commerce clause as laid out in the constitution, different lawsuits that helped mold the
current guidelines, and how the clause affects business activity.
Guidelines as laid out in the U. S. Constitution
Section eight of the constitution states, that congress has the power to regulate commerce
with foreign nations, between all U. S. states and with Indian Tribes. The actual
explanation given in the constitution says,
“The commerce clause is one of the most far-reaching grants of power to congress.
Interstate commerce covers all movement of people and things across state lines, and every
form of communications and transportation" (US Const. art. I, sec. 8).
This power to congress has created a problem for some business owners because they felt
that congress should not have the power to regulate commerce within a state. Business
owners believed that as long as their business only moved people or goods in one state
then it should be up to the states to regulate the commerce in that particular state. Issues
such as this led to several lawsuits that helped change some of the commerce regulating
powers of congress.
Lawsuits that brought change
One major lawsuit was Gibbons v. Ogden in 1824. In this case Aaron Ogden filed suit to
stop Thomas Gibbons form running a competing ferry because Ogden had been given a
license to exclusively operate steamboats between New York and ports in New Jersey.
However Gibbons filed a counter suit because his boats were licensed under the 1793 act
of congress that authorized boats to trade different fishery goods between two states. The
courts ruled in favor of Ogden because both the federal government and state governments
have the right to regulate commerce, but there was no evidence stating that congress
preempted New York from being able to grant Ogden or anyone else an exclusive
