Does Congress Have Too Much Power Over Commerce? Essay

The Power and Significance of Congress Firstly it is important to look at the power and significance of congress as a legislative body. This includes the creation of law, and the scrutiny of the executive. Because the US federal system is ruled by 'separation of powers', it is important that the legislative - congress - acts as a good check and restraint on the executive - the president.

Because Gibbons had no New York license, Ogden filed a complaint in the Court of Chancery of New York asking the court to give an injunction to Gibbons forbidding him landing rights to the port of New York. Ogden’s lawyer argued that states frequently approved laws on problems concerning interstate matters and that states should have entirely concurrent power with Congress on issues regarding interstate commerce. Gibbons’ lawyer, Daniel Webster, contended that Congress had private nationwide power over interstate commerce permitted by Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3 of the Constitution. The courts of New York rejected Gibbons’ argument and found in favor of Ogden and issued an injunction against Gibbons’. Gibbons appealed and the Court of Errors of New York confirmed the decision. He then appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

The legislative branch is the most powerful branch in government. The legislative branch is in charge of making and passing laws. They have the power to override a president’s decision, stop laws from being passed, and basically control all decisions the governments makes. The legislative branch, also called the congress, consists of the House of Representatives and the senate. The reason for two houses of congress is to balance out the concerns of smaller but more populated states against states that are larger but with less population (www.Usgovinfo.com).

Congress agreed with the finding presented by the Board of Treasury and prepared to address the states concerning this matter. William Samuel Johnson of Connecticut was put in charge of drafting the address to states. However, friends of Johnson warned him that the address would do little to encourage the people to contribute to the nation crisis, so the address was never delivered ("The Library of Congress," n.d.). Finally, the ability of Congress to control commerce between America and foreign nations was addressed ("The Library of Congress", n.d.). Because the Articles of Confederation gave Congress little control over the trades between foreign nations and various states, it was important for Congress to gain some order over the matter. According to "The Library of Congress" (n.d.), "In 1784, Congress requested that the states grant it limited power over commerce for fifteen years, but many of the states did not comply” (Congress is Unable to Control Commerce Between American and Foreign Nations). In 1785, James Monroe, a delegate, once more addressed the need for more control over commerce, which led the creation of a committee lead by Monroe. The new committee recommended amending the Articles of Confederation, on February 16, 1785, so that Congress could get the power needed for commerce ("The Library of Congress," n.d.). However, as before, few

Narrow construction is not found in the Constitution, but the powers granted to Congress to regulate commerce are found. Exactly stated, "Congress shall have power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes." This clause has no definite interpretation, but has included many aspects of regulating. The word "commerce" is defined as the exchange or buying and selling of commodities on a large scale involving transportation from place to place (Webster 264). Congress has exercised this delegated power in many cases. The nature and basic guidelines of Congress' power over commerce is first laid out in the case of Gibbons v. Ogden. In addition, the case United States v. Lopez is a

In the past century, people continued to express an increasingly discontent view of Congress especially true when one looks back before the Clinton Impeachment debacle As the size of the nation and the number of congressman have grown, the congress has come under attack by both public influences and congressman themselves. Yet looking at one congressman's relationship with his or her constituents, it would be hard to believe that this is the branch of government that has come under suspect. In "If Ralph Nader says congress is 'The broken branch,' how come we love our congressman so much?" author Richard F. Fenno, Jr., provides insight into this view and why, through congress coming under fire, constituents still feel positively about

Many controversial topics have surfaced recently, but one that tends to fly under the radar is lobbying. Lobbying is defined as a group of persons who work or conduct a campaign to influence members of a legislature to vote according to a group’s special interests (“Lobby”). Although average citizens are not fully aware of the issue, it is quite contentious in politics. For those who are against it, they believe that restrictions should be placed on lobbying because it distorts democracy. Lobbyists use money and cost-effective strategies to sway the opinions of lawmakers. Others see lobbyists as effective, political tour guides who help pass legislation. An analysis of the lobbying process reveals the outcomes are often

The Commerce Clause in Article 1, Section 8 states that Congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce itself as well as the power to regulate local commerce if that local commerce has a substantial economic effect on interstate commerce. When Congress regulates an intrastate activity, there is a test that is used by the Supreme Court that determines whether Congress actually has the right to regulate this intrastate activity with some sort of economic effect. The Commerce Clause test is one that also goes on to explain that it is not just about one instance where if there is a substantial economic effect on interstate commerce, but as a whole having a substantial economic effect. Also, if the activity does deal with interstate commerce that has an economic effect, then Congress has the ability to regulate wages and any other instance of activity which includes all workers even if the workers do not produce the commerce. Section 1001 of the PSA states Congress’ intention to “establish a nationwide program to protect the public from the adverse effects of tainted and contaminated pharmaceutical products.” Section 5001 of the PSA establishes licensing and pharmaceutical production education requirements for “individuals employed by any pharmaceutical producer” and sets maximum hours such individuals can work. One could then argue that the Supreme Court is allowed to say that Section 5001 of the PSA is within Congress’ power to set maximum hours and make people

First, under the Articles of Confederation Congress could not regulate trade. Via the law, the states had the power to regulate trade in any way that they saw appropriate. The only way Congress could regulate was trade with the Native Americans. Next, Congress had no power to tax the states. In the Articles of Confederation, the states were the ones who had the power to tax, not the federal government.

The president is the foreign policy leader for the United States with an important political, military and economic role in the international arena. If there is collision between the president and congress, can congress restrain the president in foreign policy making?

Furthermore, in Standard Oil Co., the Supreme Court stated that “The term "monopoly,"… as used in the Sherman Act was intended to cover such monopolies or attempts to monopolize as were known to exist in this country; those which were defined as illegal at common law by the States, when applied to intrastate commerce.” The Supreme Court went on to further state that “the principles of the common law applied to interstate as well as to intrastate commerce.”

Before the civil war, presidential power is limited because it has little responsibility as congress holds more power and president can only veto bills passed by the congress. During the 19th until early 20th century, there are inconsistent power allocation between the president and the congress. In the 20th century, federal government grew because of three reasons. The first reason is corporations who wanted to do business in a national scale preferred a single federal law than multiple commercial laws that differs in each state. the second reason is that the federal law became responsible in economic management after the Great Depression. The third reason is the creation of welfare state that the federal are responsible for. Also the events

One of the many powers given to Congress by the Constitution is the Commerce Clause. This clause allows Congress to regulate commerce between foreign nations, states, and Indian tribes. The authority laid out authorizes Congress to pass laws that ultimately regulate activities of states and citizens and free the restraints of states who feel otherwise. Throughout the history of the United States, the Commerce Clause has caused controversy over the extent that Congress can justify the use of this clause to pass laws. The Supreme Court has been relied on to determine the constitutionality of the laws and settle the controversies. One of these controversies lies within the Supreme Court case of United States v. Lopez.

Concurring (Justice Johnson): Justice Johnson argued that original power to regulate commerce existed solely to the states under the Articles of Confederation. The states were sovereign and had the power to regulate their own commerce. Justice Johnson later argues that states no longer uses the Article of Confederation and must comply with the powers under the Constitution. Which he explains is absolute and has divine power, and the power to regulate commerce is solely the right of Congress.

Chief Justice Marshall had delivered the opinion of a unanimous (6-0) Court siding with Gibbons. The court decision stated that Gibbons' federal license was a legitimate exercise of the regulation of commerce that was provided in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. The New York State law that created commercial monopolies was voided because it conflicted with the regulatory power of the Federal Government. The Court ruled that Gibbons was allowed to operate within the waters of New York