Gibbons v. Ogden is the first book-length treatment of a landmark Supreme Court case from 1824. In this lively and colorful history, Cox engages readers with details of the period, depicting personalities such as Robert Fulton, John Marshall, Daniel Webster, and Cornelius Vanderbilt, all of whom participated in this case involving a steamship monopoly along the Hudson River.The decision that was made in Gibbons v. Ogden gave Congress the power to regulate commerce among the states. The doctrine has carried forward into our own time and into areas far removed from steamboat transportation in New York harbors, including important issues in the Prohibition and Civil Rights eras. It is considered one of the most significant Supreme Court cases, still taught in constitutional law courses, and still influencing cases involving interstate trade.
Blurbs Richard F. Hamm: "The scholarship is very deep and broad. The tale is important enough and the treatment so well balanced that general readers of American history will find much of use in the work.” And Daniel W. Hamilton writes, “A highly original and much-needed book that puts Gibbons v. Ogden in historical context. … [A] major contribution to our understanding of a landmark case.”
