The Commerce Clause

Paper Summary:

The paper focuses on the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution, which gives Congress the power to regulate commerce among the states and which has also been very controversial. The paper looks at the first decision made with this clause, "Gibbons v. Ogden", where Congress was left with broad and ambiguous power. The paper then shows how later cases placed greater limits on federal power and restricted it to control over those things which directly affect trade across state boundaries.

From the Paper:

"Basically the Commerce Clause, which gives Congress the power to regulate commerce among the states, arose out of concern that the free flow of commerce among the states might break down if states, as under the Articles of Confederation, had the power to erect protectionist measures on behalf of indigenous enterprises. Thus, its principal aim was to ensure the free flow of commerce by giving Congress the power to regulate, or make regular, such interstate commerce. Hence, the system, fostered by Commerce Clause, was that every farmer and every craftsman would be encouraged to produce by the certainty that he would have free access to every market in the country, that no home embargoes would withhold his exports, and no foreign state would by customs duties or regulations exclude them. Likewise, every consumer could look to the free competition from every producing area in the country to protect him from exploitation by any."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Eric Eldred, et al., v. Janet Reno. (2001. February 16). United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit: Eric Eldred, et al., Appellants v. Janet Reno, in her official capacity as Attorney General. Retrieved May 14, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/Fed-Ct/Circuit/dc/opinions/99-5430a.html
• Supreme Court Avoids Commerce Clause Question Through Narrow Construction of Clean Water Act. (2001). Retrieved May 15, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.nsclc.org/cleanwater.html
• Supreme Court Cases. Retrieved May 15, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.tourolaw.edu/patch/CaseSummary.html
• U.S. Federalism Site. Retrieved May 15, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.min.net/~kala/fed/

More papers on The Commerce Clause:

• Essay # 45849 : "The Power of Congress and the Commerce Clause"
• Essay # 43667 : "Supreme Courts and the Commerce Clause"
• Analytical Essay # 150299 : "Commerce Clause"

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