I am Richard (Rich) Barker, I live in Granbury TX, just outside of Fort Worth. I have a passion for history and learning from scholars who provide both sides of an argument. To learn and understand our nation’s history and hopefully apply that knowledge in my future endeavors as a history teacher.
Was the “Age of Jackson” truly the “Era of the Common Man?” This depends on your point of view. When viewing the ruling brought down from the courts during this time, not all of the common man benefited. The courts during the colonial period protected the individual not the community in their decisions. For example, when a new mill dam on a stream flooded neighboring fields, the courts intervened to protect the injured parties.
During …show more content…
Take the case of Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), where Ogden received an exclusive license to operate steamboat ferries between New Jersey and New York City on the Hudson River from the state of New York. Gibbons, a competitor, wished to conduct his own ferry business on the same route. Ogden sought an injunction against Gibbons since he had the exclusive rights to operate the route. Since the route crossed state lines, Gibbons claimed he had the right to operate on the route pursuant to a 1793 act of Congress regulating coastal commerce. Based on the commerce clause, the Supreme Court overturned the lower court ruling, allowing Gibbons to operate his ferry service on the same route as Ogden. In addition, Alex McBride states: “Gibbons v. Ogden set the stage for future expansion of congressional power over commercial activity and a vast range of other activities once thought to come within the jurisdiction of the states. After Gibbons, Congress had preemptive authority over the states to regulate any aspect of commerce crossing state lines. Thus, any state law regulating in-state commercial activities (e.g., workers ' minimum wages in an in-state factory) could potentially be overturned by Congress if that activity was somehow connected to interstate commerce (e.g., that factory 's goods were sold across state lines). Indeed, more than any other case, Ogden set the stage for the federal government 's overwhelming growth in power into the 20th
Was the “Age of Jackson” truly the “Era of the Common Man?” This depends on your point of view. When viewing the ruling brought down from the courts during this time, not all of the common man benefited. The courts during the colonial period protected the individual not the community in their decisions. For example, when a new mill dam on a stream flooded neighboring fields, the courts intervened to protect the injured parties.
During …show more content…
Take the case of Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), where Ogden received an exclusive license to operate steamboat ferries between New Jersey and New York City on the Hudson River from the state of New York. Gibbons, a competitor, wished to conduct his own ferry business on the same route. Ogden sought an injunction against Gibbons since he had the exclusive rights to operate the route. Since the route crossed state lines, Gibbons claimed he had the right to operate on the route pursuant to a 1793 act of Congress regulating coastal commerce. Based on the commerce clause, the Supreme Court overturned the lower court ruling, allowing Gibbons to operate his ferry service on the same route as Ogden. In addition, Alex McBride states: “Gibbons v. Ogden set the stage for future expansion of congressional power over commercial activity and a vast range of other activities once thought to come within the jurisdiction of the states. After Gibbons, Congress had preemptive authority over the states to regulate any aspect of commerce crossing state lines. Thus, any state law regulating in-state commercial activities (e.g., workers ' minimum wages in an in-state factory) could potentially be overturned by Congress if that activity was somehow connected to interstate commerce (e.g., that factory 's goods were sold across state lines). Indeed, more than any other case, Ogden set the stage for the federal government 's overwhelming growth in power into the 20th