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Commerce Clause Timeline

1990

1941

1819

1851

2000

1905

1942

1824

By: Serena Carpino

McCulloch V. Maryland

McCulloch v. Maryland

  • Maryland taxed the Baltimore branch of the US National Bank
  • James McCulloch, head of the bank, was arrested for refusing to pay the tax
  • The state courts sided against him appealed to the Supreme Court

Decision and Impact

  • The Marshall Court decided that Congress could pass all laws "necessary and proper" to its duties, even if not explicitly in the Constitution
  • Sided with McCulloch: states could not tax federal institutions
  • "The power to tax is the power to destroy"

Decision

Expanded the power of the federal government

Gibbons v. Ogden

Gibbons

v.

Ogden

  • NY State law gave Robert Livingston and Robert Fulton a monopoly over Hudson River for 20 years
  • Gibbons and Ogden did business from NY NJ but their partnerships fell apart after 3 years
  • They began separate businesses, but Ogden filed a suit against Gibbons
  • The state courts sided with Ogden

Decision and Impact

  • The Supreme Court sided with Gibbons
  • Since the ships were traveling from NY to NJ, the business was dealing with interstate commerce
  • NY state could not oversee this type of commerce, so the law was invalid
  • The national government had all power over interstate commerce

Decision

Expanded the power of the federal government

Cooley v. Board of Wardens of Port of Philadelphia

Cooley v. Board of Wardens

  • PA law said that the all ships entering the Philadelphia port needed to hire a local pilot. If they did not, they had to pay a fine
  • Cooley, a ship owner, didn't hire a pilot or pay the fine
  • Argued the law violated the Commerce Clause
  • The state courts rejected his argument

Decision and Impact

  • The Supreme Court said the law did not violate the Constitution
  • This was an example of intrastate commerce, which was overseen by each individual state

Decision

Limited the power of the federal government

Swift & Co. v. United States

  • The leading six meatpackers in Chicago agreed not to bid against each other in their effort to control prices
  • This also caused the railroads to to charge them less to ship their product
  • President Roosevelt combatted thsi with a lawsuit, citing the Sherman AntiTrust Act

Decision and Impact

Decision

  • The Supreme Court ruled that the meatpacking companies could be regulated under the Commerce Clause
  • This expanded the definition of interstate commerce
  • Since the federal government won in this case, they pursued several antitrust actions after

Expanded the power of the federal government

United States v. Darby

  • Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to ensure that workers were given fair rights
  • One employer, Darby, was arrested for violating FLSA but the charges were dismissed because a lower court said the act was unconstitutional

Decision and Impact

Decision

  • The court upheld FLSA, citing Gibbons v. Ogden in regards to the power of the commerce clause
  • Since FLSA was related to workers rights, which played a large role in interstate commerce, the act was constitutional under the Commerce Clause

Expanded the power of the federal government

Wickard v. Filburn

  • Filburn, a wheat farmer in Ohio, harvested more wheat than what was allowed by the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938
  • He said that this affected intrastate commerce, so the law did not apply to him
  • He argued that the Commerce Clause did not apply to him

Decision and Impact

Decision

  • The court upheld the law
  • They said that Congress could regulate intrastate commerce if it played a significant role in interstate commerce

Expanded the power of the federal government

United States v. Lopez

  • A senior in high school was charged with firearm possession on school property after he brought a concealed gun to school
  • Federal charges were brought against him for violating the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 and state charges were dismissed

Decision and Impact

  • The court found the Gun-Free School Zones Act to be unconstitutional since possessing a gun was not related to economics, and thus could not be covered by the Commerce Clause

Decision

Limited the power of the federal government

*This case is seen as the first shift in the transition from more federal government power to greater power to the state governments

United States v. Morrison

  • A student at Virginia Tech accused two other students of raping her
  • She filed a complaint and ultimately sued them, citing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994
  • The district court found the act to be unconstitutional since Congress did not have the authority to pass VAWA with the justification of the Commerce Clause

Decision and Impact

Decision

  • The Supreme Court sided with the district court and declared VAWA to be unconstitutional
  • The act did not apply to interstate commerce and thus could not be defended through the Commerce Clause

Limited the power of the federal government

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