The Commerce Clause

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...