The Interstate Commerce Act (429)

The article, “Creating the System: Railroads and the Modern Corporation”, informs us all about the development of the transcontinental railroad and how it helped drive the nation west and also transformed western North America into a economy that had many opportunities. The railroads have always interested me when it comes to this period of time. What I learned from the reading that I didn’t know before was that the Western railroads were primary carriers of grain, other agricultural produce, livestock, coal, lumber and minerals. Also seeing the prices that the farmers shipped their products for, and what they paid for the freights rates was very interesting. Overall, if the railroads wouldn’t have been built in a time when there was so little

Beginning in 1871, several states passed laws controlling railroad freight. The railroads fought the Granger Laws, in federal court, where they were ruled unconstitutional. The railroads regularly used rebates and drawbacks to help win the business of large shippers, and made up this loss in profit by increasing the cost to smaller shippers such as farmers. As a result, many farmers, already hurt by the depression in agriculture, were ruined. These farmers were hurt by the unfair practices of the railroad enterprise.

Most of their success was contributed to laissez-faire’s economic system. The government played a large part in funding the accounts acting in the railroad industry. Document G exposes the bonds, grants, and money given out by the government to multiple railroad companies. This caused the citizens to have to pay a much higher tax in order for the government to contribute to railroad companies. Never the less in the 1870’s Congresses resolution was passed. This states “no subsidy in money, bonds, public lands, endorsement, or by pledges of the public credit, should be granted by Congress to associations or corporations engaged or proposed to engage in public or private enterprise” as seen in Document F. They were trying to limit certain aspects of the companies, directly contradicting the laissez-faire idea. After this resolution was passed the land was put on sale for 125-250 per acre. At this point the larger companies began to buy the land surrounding the railroads and selling it off piece by piece at much higher

The paper will serve as a historical background overview of how the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC) came into existence. The paper will also break down the key components for which the FTC covers, such as deceptive advertising, baiting and switching and consumer fraud. There will be examples

For many American settlers, the Great Plains area didn’t spark much interest. But many were beginning to change their minds in the years leading up to the Civil War. As the Continental railroad was beginning to move westward, many were beginning to realize how wrong they were. “Settlers in Kansas found no desert, but millions of acres of fertile soil.”(DOC 1) Many settlers raced to the west to try to snag a plot of land in the west to hopefully start a new chapter in their lives. The transcontinental railroad also helped businesses boom by transporting goods much faster by the railroad. Also, the transcontinental railroad didn’t only transport goods to businesses, it also transported settlers from coast to coast. “After the transcontinental railroad was completed, it cost $150 and took one week. For the first time, U.S. Americans could freely travel from coast to coast. This radically changed both business and pleasure travel.”(How the Transcontinental Railroad Changed America) For many settlers, the transcontinental railroad was revolutionizing transportation. From delivering goods, to transporting people across the coast. We can all agree the transcontinental railroad

Richard White’s 2011 book titled Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America is about the corrupt and mismanaged transcontinental railroads and bold arguments of the story how they came and went. In this book White describes how the construction of the transcontinental railroads across the US in the late nineteenth century would change America socially, economically, and politically. He also describes the companies that built these railroads and argues with three main points on why they were corrupt companies. First I’d like to go over the three different ways that the railroads would affect America, socially, economically, and politically.

During the early stages of the Civil War, railroads proved to have a phenomenal effect on achieving the Union victory over the Confederacy. The railroads not only helped to transport soldiers and goods throughout the Union sufficiently, but also increased the production rate and preservation of manufacturing. Upon seeing the power of railroads in war efforts, the Pacific Railroad Act was passed in 1862, which provided federal bonds and land grants for building a transcontinental railroad, along a northern route("Landmark Legislation:The Pacific Railroad Act"). The act pronounced that "the said corporation is hereby authorized and empowered to layout,

“If any act symbolized the taming of the Northwest frontier, it was the driving of the final spike to complete the nation’s first transcontinental railroad.”1 The first railroad west of the Mississippi River was opened on December 23, 1852. Five miles long, the track ran from St. Louis to Cheltanham, Missouri. Twenty-five years prior, there were no railroads in the United States; twenty-five years later, railroads joined the east and west coasts from New York to San Francisco.2

In 1860, the United States had more railroad track than the rest of the world combined. Shipping freight by rail became much more practical and affordable, easily beating out the use of steamboats. The railroad directly led to the increase of urban centers. Chicago, for example, virtually quadrupled its population during the 1850’s. By the 1880’s, there were at least 93, 267 miles of rail that stretched across the plains and just ten years later, there were 163,597 miles of rail. By 1862, Congress passed the Pacific Railroad Act, which gave the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroads responsibility for building the transcontinental railroad. Congress also granted both railroads lands and millions of dollars of government loans. May 10, 1869, after six long years of hard intensive labor, the tracks of the two railroads finally met at

Railroads became extremely popular in America in the 1800’s. The railroad industry itself began to boom; it was supported by its reputation for speed and efficiency. But, along with the booming industry of railroads came the strong debate that

Transportation was one challenge the railroad fixed. People could now travel and discover the frontier faster. Trade was also increased once the tracks were finished. Many could now take their items to new areas to make trades. Another nuisance that the transcontinental railroad corrected was the communication gap. Settlers were often isolated, so when the railroad was completed other settlers would meet up to chat and help one another out. The last major impact the completion of the transcontinental railroad created was the opportunity for new jobs. Silver mining in Comstock Lode, Nevada and gold mining in the Black Hills created many jobs for settlers. Railroad companies may have helped the United States, but they would capitalize off of the government. These companies did so through the Pacific Railway Acts. The Pacific Railway Acts provided loans and land grants to railroad companies in order to help the companies raise money for the construction of new railroads. In return the government would get discounted rates to send troops and mail. By the end of these acts, “Congress and granted over 131 million acres of land to railroad companies.” (Holt McDougal, 590). The transcontinental railroad had improved many things, but that’s not all this railroad

The Interlocking Directorates was a business practice that railroad companies used the 1800s. The same boards of Directors ran two different companies. This resulted in price gouging and market monopolizing. The Grange motivated farm families to unite for their political benefit. It also encouraged farmers to fight to get state laws and regulate railroad monopolies. In 1877, The court case (Munn.V Illinois) ruled that states have the power to control business within its own borders. This made the farmers happy. In 1886(Wabash v. Illinois) , the Supreme Court ordered that railroad traffic across state lines could be controlled by the federal government. Because of this, the Farmers were upset. The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 created the

The United States Congress established in two parts, the House and the senate. Article 1 of the United States Constitution states, "All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives." The House and Senate are equal partners in the legislative process—legislation cannot be enacted without the consent of both chambers. All laws are enacted through legislation. Legislation states that one cannot kill another person or commit murder. Since our Founding Fathers wrote the U.S. Constitution based on, for the most part common sense and religion, it is acceptable to believe that Congress relied on religion when it inserted that murder was illegal based on the 6th Commandment which states that “Thou shall not Kill.” Obviously understanding that there had to be a moral background to all laws made and enacted. Seen as an admonition against murder, the sixth commandment often forms the philosophical foundation for arguments against suicide, capital punishment, abortion, euthanasia, war, and any other situation where one person might be inclined to take the life of another. The Fourteenth Amendment forbids states from denying any person life, liberty or property. Since the taking of an innocent life is called murder, abortions should be illegal.

Interstate commerce, in U.S. constitutional law, any commercial transactions or traffic that cross state boundaries or that involve more than one state. The court decided that a business, although operating within a single state, could affect interstate commerce with its restrictive laws and was, therefore, at odds with the federal legislation that proved to be enabling of the Constitution’s commerce clause.

The first issue is wether or not Aline has rights to sell the car to Christine after having sold it to Benjamin. “The basic rule is expressed in the Latin maxim nemo dat quod non habet”. This means that a seller cannot pass to a buyer a better title to goods than he possesses, “unless the owner of the goods is by his conduct precluded from denying the seller 's authority to sell”. In Greenwood,  the court held that the car belonged to Bennett as Searle did not have title and could therefore not transfer that title to Harper. On applying this to the facts, it is possible to conclude that Aline can pass no better title than she has to Christine after having sold the car to Benjamin.