Gibbons v. Ogden
The case of Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), decided 35 years after the ratification of the Constitution,
was a key turning point for the expansion of federal power to address national problems.
Under the Articles of Confederation, the national government was virtually powerless to enact
policies to rationalize the actions of states. One problem that emerged during this time was the
way in which state policies tended to restrict commerce within and beyond their borders, making
market exchanges inefficient and costly. In the Constitution, the framers included the Commerce
Clause in Article I, Section 8 to address this issue. The Commerce Clause states that Congress
has the power "[t]o regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States. . . ."
The hope was that giving Congress such a power would help to unify commerce policies thereby
making market exchanges more efficient and less costly.
Though the clause clearly gave Congress some power over commerce, it was unclear just how
much. It was also unclear what constituted commerce. The Gibbons case clarified some of these
issues under a decision issued by Chief Justice John Marshall, who had nationalist intentions.
In 1808, Robert Fulton and Robert Livingston acquired a monopoly from the New York state
legislature to operate steamboats on the state's waters. This monopoly extended to interstate
waterways, those areas of water that stretch between states. Aaron Ogden held a FultonLivingston license to operate steamboats under this monopoly. However, Thomas Gibbons held a
federal coasting license, granted under a 1793 Act of Congress, and operated steamboats
between New Jersey and New York that competed with Ogden's.
Ogden filed a complaint in the Court of Chancery of New York asking the court to restrain
Gibbons from operating his boats. Ogden's lawyer contended that states often passed laws on
issues regarding interstate matters and that states should have fully concurrent power with
Congress on matters concerning interstate commerce. The monopoly, therefore, should be
upheld.
Gibbons' lawyer, Daniel Webster, argued that Congress had exclusive national power over
interstate commerce according to Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution and that to argue
otherwise would result in confusing and contradictory local regulatory policies.
The Court of Chancery of New York found in favor of Ogden and issued an injunction to restrict
Gibbons from operating his boats. Gibbons appealed the case to the Court of Errors of New
York, which affirmed the decision. Gibbons appealed the case to the Supreme Court of the
United States.
Questions to Consider
1. Under what authority, state or federal, did Ogden operate his steamboats? Gibbons?
2. What argument did Ogden use to support his license to operate steamboats? Gibbons?
3. The background information states that Gibbons relied on the Commerce Clause of
Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution to justify his case. If Ogden wanted to use the
U.S. Constitution to back up his case, what section or amendment might he use?
4. The Commerce Clause was meant to clarify who had authority over interstate commerce;
however, like most of the U.S. Constitution, the clause is stated in general terms that
leaves open the possibility for interpretation. For instance, in this case there was a
question about whether the transport of people constituted commerce. Try to think of
another circumstance where the application of this clause would be unclear.
5. This case appears to be a local dispute between two businessmen. However, the decision
in this case is one of the most important in constitutional history. Please explain.
Decision
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Gibbons. The justices agreed that
the Commerce Clause gave Congress the power to regulate the operation of steamboats between
New York and New Jersey. Therefore, the license issued to Gibbons by Congress to operate a
coast ferry service superseded the monopoly license to operate a ferry service issued to Ogden by
the state of New York. The decision centered on the Court’s interpretation of the Commerce
Clause, found in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, which gives Congress “power to
regulate commerce … among the several states.” The first issue raised in this case was the
definition of the word “commerce.” The second issue was the meaning of the phrase “among the
several states.” Writing the opinion for the Court, Chief Justice Marshall interpreted the
meaning of the Commerce Clause to give Congress broad power over commercial activity and
reduced that of the states.
Chief Justice Marshall first addressed the controversy over the meaning of the word “commerce”
as used in the Commerce Clause. Rather than limit the interpretation of “commerce” to give
Congress power to regulate only “buying and selling” of goods, the Chief Justice adopted a
broader definition. According to this definition, “commerce” refers not only to the buying and
selling of goods, but also to “commercial intercourse,” including navigation. The Chief Justice
justified this broad interpretation by examining the original intention of the framers of the
Constitution. He noted that one of the “immediate causes” leading to the adoption of the
Constitution was to allow the federal government to regulate commerce in order to avoid the
“embarrassing and destructive consequences” of leaving such regulation up to the “legislation of
so many different States.” Furthermore, “[a]ll America understands … the word ‘commerce’ to
[include] navigation. It was so understood … when the Constitution was framed.” Thus, he
concluded, it was consistent with the intent of the framers to interpret the Commerce Clause to
give Congress broad power over the regulation of commercial activity, including the operation of
steamboats between New York and New Jersey.
The Chief Justice then considered the meaning of the phrase “among the several States.” The
controversy here centered on whether the Commerce Clause gave Congress authority to regulate
only commercial activity that occurred at the borders of states, or whether Congress could
regulate activity occurring within states that would eventually lead to commercial activity
between states. In other words, could Congress regulate only the actual passing of goods over
state borders, or did the Commerce Clause allow Congress to regulate activity within states, like
the transportation of goods, for example, that would lead to the passing of goods over state
borders? Concluding that “[t]he word ‘among’ means intermingled with,” Chief Justice
Marshall held that within the meaning of the Commerce Clause, Congressional authority to
regulate commerce “cannot stop at the external boundary line of each State, but may be
introduced into the interior.” He was careful to note, however, that Congress’s power under the
Commerce Clause did not extend to the regulation of commercial activity taking place
completely within one state which “does not extend to or affect other States.” Thus, Chief
Justice Marshall adopted a broad interpretation of the Commerce Clause, giving Congress great
authority to regulate commercial activity within and between states, and expanding the power of
the federal government over the states.