Did the Gibbons case of 1824 involved the licensing of Fulton and Livingston to run a steamship navigation operation?

Answer 1

No, but you're warm. Fulton and Livingston were business partners, but the issue was whether they or the federal government had the right to regulate traffic in New York waterways.

Gibbons v. Ogden, (1824) involved a dispute between two rival steamboat owners over the right to use the Hudson River and New York harbor for commercial purposes. The waterways belonged to the State of New York, which granted Fulton and Livingston the exclusive right to issue steamboat licenses.

Ogden was a New York resident who held a Fulton-Livingston license to operate; Gibbons was a New Jersey resident who held a federal license to operate on all inland and coastal waters.

New York claimed the water was within its State boundaries, giving it exclusive authority to decide who could use the rivers, harbor and docks. The Supreme Court held that Congress had sole authority to regulate commerce between states (even within state boundaries) under the Interstate Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8).

Case Citation:

Gibbons v. Ogden, 22 US 1 (1824)

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