Video
Written Component
Context
In 1781, five years after the colonies became free from British rule, the Articles of Confederation were implemented. This document was an agreement between the 13 states that attempted to establish the functions of the national government. The Articles allowed each state to have power over their own trade. They worked independently and competitively against each other, and even established trade barriers. Congress was prohibited from regulating any commerce, so the rising inflation rates could not be controlled, and America’s economy grew weak. In response to these economic problems, a convention was held in 1789.
Common interpretation
The Commerce Clause was formed here, which gave Congress the power “to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.” This clause is commonly interpreted as giving Congress power to regulate international and interstate commerce, and trade with Indian Tribes, as well as prohibit states from interfering with Congress’ decisions.
Matters of Debate
However, the undefined meanings of the words “to regulate”, “commerce” and “among the several States” make this clause open to interpretation. For example, in the case of Gibbons v. Ogden, the word “commerce” was argued to include people, not just goods. Thomas Gibbons, given permission by the federal government to operate steamboats between New York City and the New Jersey coast, sued Aaron Ogden, who was backed up by the State of New York to do the same, after Gibbons was denied access to these waterways. In the end, the Court ruled in Gibbon’s favor. The argument was that the definition of “commerce” included the people carried in steamboats, so steamboats would be considered as commerce, and the powers of Congress from the Commerce Clause could be applied. The reasoning of Chief Justice Marshall was that “commerce” was not only buying and selling, but also intercourse and thus navigation.
Another matter of debate was introduced in United States v. Darby, where the meanings of “to regulate” and “among the several States” were expanded. The FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) was passed in 1938, and set minimum wages, maximum hours, etc. Darby, a lumber manufacturer, was arrested after shipping lumber out of state while violating the FLSA. In this case, the Court reaffirmed this Act to be constitutional, which gave Congress the power to prohibit manufacturing goods inside states with the FLSA. Another reason why Congress was given this power was because intrastate commerce would affect interstate commerce, which the government was already in charge of by the Commerce Clause. Previously, the common interpretations of “to regulate” and “among the several States” led to Congress regulating commerce between two or more states. However, these meanings were expanded in the case of United States v. Darby, giving Congress the power to regulate interstate and now intrastate commerce.
Significance
The concepts of the Commerce Clause connect to some ideas of early modern enlightenment philosophers such as Rousseau, as they both emphasized the importance of a strong central government. Personally, I would not change this clause because I think this idea is extremely important. If Congress wasn’t in charge of states’ trade, the free market wouldn’t exist, and America’s economy would worsen.