Throwback Thursdays: Gibbons v Ogden

In 1824, SCOTUS decided Gibbons v Ogden, interpreting the Constitution’s Commerce Clause. These days, the government uses the Commerce Clause as an excuse to exercise broad control over many aspects of our lives. While the Gibbons decision seemed to rely on a broad definition of commerce, it still properly recognized that Congress only has the authority to regulate commerce with foreign nations, commerce among the several states, and commerce with Indian tribes. In other words, in matters of solely intrastate commerce, Congress has NO authority to regulate. Unfortunately, these days our government (including SCOTUS) unconstitutionally allows Congress to interfere with intrastate commerce. Remember, the government only has those powers expressly granted to it in the Constitution. We The People need to start reining our government in.