Gibbons v. Ogden

Gibbons v. Ogden, U.S. Supreme Court decision of Mar. 2, 1824, important in defining the power of Congress. Aaron Ogden, a steamship operator, held a license from a company given a monopoly of steamship traffic on the Hudson River by the New York legislature. He sought to prevent Thomas Gibbons, who held a license from the federal government, from competing with him. Chief Justice John Marshall's decision upholding Gibbons was widely praised because it affirmed Congress's power over interstate commerce and broke up a powerful monopoly of steamboat travel.