Which Supreme Court case established that only Congress could regulate interstate commerce (trade between the states)?

Which Supreme Court case established that only Congress could regulate interstate commerce (trade between the states)?

• A. McCulloch v. Maryland
• B. Gibbons v. Ogden
• C. Marbury v. Madison
• D. Emancipation Proclamation

Answer: (B)

Interstate commerce refers to trade that moves across state lines, and the power to regulate that trade sits with Congress under the Commerce Clause. Gibbons v. Ogden clarifies that this authority includes navigation and, importantly, that federal regulation can override state-granted controls when activities cross state borders. In this case, a federal license to operate steamboats between states was deemed to supersede a New York monopoly that restricted who could run boats there. The ruling thus established a broad federal power to regulate interstate economic activity and prevented states from blocking it with their own laws. Other options don’t fit because they deal with different constitutional principles: McCulloch v. Maryland centers on federal supremacy and the scope of Congress’s implied powers, not specifically on commerce between states; Marbury v. Madison establishes judicial review; Emancipation Proclamation is not a Supreme Court case and concerns emancipation, not interstate commerce.

Interstate commerce refers to trade that moves across state lines, and the power to regulate that trade sits with Congress under the Commerce Clause. Gibbons v. Ogden clarifies that this authority includes navigation and, importantly, that federal regulation can override state-granted controls when activities cross state borders. In this case, a federal license to operate steamboats between states was deemed to supersede a New York monopoly that restricted who could run boats there. The ruling thus established a broad federal power to regulate interstate economic activity and prevented states from blocking it with their own laws.

Other options don’t fit because they deal with different constitutional principles: McCulloch v. Maryland centers on federal supremacy and the scope of Congress’s implied powers, not specifically on commerce between states; Marbury v. Madison establishes judicial review; Emancipation Proclamation is not a Supreme Court case and concerns emancipation, not interstate commerce.