Gibbons v. Ogden

Gibbons v. Ogden
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued February 5, 1824
Decided March 2, 1824
Full case nameThomas Gibbons, Appellant v. Aaron Ogden, Respondent
Citations22 U.S. 1 (more)
9 Wheat. 1; 16 L. Ed. 23; 1824 U.S. LEXIS 370
Case history
PriorAppeal from the Court for the Trial of Impeachments and Correction of Errors of the State of New York
Holding
The New York law is invalid because the Commerce Clause of the Constitution designates power to Congress to regulate interstate commerce, and the broad definition of commerce includes navigation.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Marshall
Associate Justices
Bushrod Washington · William Johnson
Thomas Todd · Gabriel Duvall
Joseph Story · Smith Thompson
Case opinions
MajorityMarshall, joined by Washington, Todd, Duvall, Story
ConcurrenceJohnson
Thompson took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
U.S. Const. art. I sec. 8 clause 3

Gibbons v. Ogden, 22 U.S. (9 Wheat.) 1 (1824), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States which held that the power to regulate interstate commerce, which is granted to the US Congress by the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution, encompasses the power to regulate navigation.[1][2] The decision is credited with supporting the economic growth of the antebellum United States and the creation of national markets. Gibbons v. Ogden has since provided the basis for Congress' regulation of railroads, freeways and television and radio broadcasts.[3]

The case was argued by some of America's most admired and capable attorneys at the time. The exiled Irish patriot Thomas Addis Emmet, as well as Thomas J. Oakley, argued for Ogden, and U.S. Attorney General William Wirt and Daniel Webster argued for Gibbons.

  1. ^ Gibbons v. Ogden, 22 U.S. (9 Wheat.) 1 (1824).Public domain This article incorporates public domain material from this U.S government document.
  2. ^ John Steele Gordon Archived 2008-04-20 at the Wayback Machine "10 Moments That Made American Business," American Heritage, February/March 2007.
  3. ^ Bates, Christopher G. (2010). The Early Republic and Antebellum America: An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural and Economic History. Routledge. p. 439.