Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad Co. V. Illinois
Date: 1886
Case Background:
The state of Illinois imposed a fine to the St. Louis & Pacific Railroad Co. for carrying a shipment from Gilman, Illinois to New York, rather than from Peoria, Illinois to New York, when Gilman was 86 miles closer to New York than Peoria. The reason was to avoid discrimination of small towns by not serving them with complete railroads. Issue: The cause was brought to the Supreme Court over the issue of who was in control of shipping rates and charges. Decision: The decision of the case was that states could not regulate commerce beyond their boundaries. The regulation had to come from the federal government. The burdens on interstate commerce were not permitted by the Export Tax Clause of the Constitution however those burdens were permitted under the Commerce Clause. Impact: This case heavily impacted the rights of states to control interstate commerce. The decision then led to the creation of the Interstate Commerce Commission. This was one of the first instances that the government had assumed responsibility for an economic affair which had already been delegated to the states. |
Justice: Morrison Remick Waite
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