GIBBONS V. OGDEN (1824) CASE SUMMARY

The New York Legislature in 1808 granted Robert Livingston and Robert Fulton a 20-year monopoly to operate steamboats in New York waters. In 1811 Fulton in turn granted Aaron Ogden a license to operate steamboats between New York and New Jersey. In 1818 the U.S. Congress, using the power given it by the commerce clause of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, granted Thomas Gibbons a license to engage in the coastal trade and operate steamboats between New York and New Jersey. Claiming that his monopoly rights were being violated, Ogden obtained an injunction from a New York court forbidding Gibbons from continuing to operate his steamboats in these waters. After obtaining the services of Daniel Webster as his lawyer, Gibbons appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. For five days in 1824, the Court, presided over by Chief Justice John Marshall, heard arguments in the case.