Gibbons v. Ogden established that the federal government has broad power to regulate which of the following?

Gibbons v. Ogden established that the federal government has broad power to regulate which of the following?

• A. Interstate Commerce
• B. Intra-State Commerce
• C. Public Land Use
• D. Monetary Policy

Answer: (A)

The key idea is the broad reach of Congress under the Commerce Clause to regulate activity that crosses state lines. Gibbons v. Ogden held that federal authority over interstate commerce includes not just buying and selling across borders but also navigation and other forms of commercial intercourse between states. In this case, a New York monopoly on steamboat navigation conflicted with a federal license permitting a marshal of interstate travel, and the Court ruled that Congress’s power to regulate interstate commerce trumps state-granted monopolies when the activity affects more than one state. That ruling established that the federal government can regulate interstate trade and transportation, even in areas that might otherwise seem local or intrastate. The other options don’t capture this broad Commerce Clause power: regulating intrastate commerce is largely left to states, public land use is about property and resource management, and monetary policy falls under separate federal authorities beyond commerce regulation.

The key idea is the broad reach of Congress under the Commerce Clause to regulate activity that crosses state lines. Gibbons v. Ogden held that federal authority over interstate commerce includes not just buying and selling across borders but also navigation and other forms of commercial intercourse between states. In this case, a New York monopoly on steamboat navigation conflicted with a federal license permitting a marshal of interstate travel, and the Court ruled that Congress’s power to regulate interstate commerce trumps state-granted monopolies when the activity affects more than one state. That ruling established that the federal government can regulate interstate trade and transportation, even in areas that might otherwise seem local or intrastate. The other options don’t capture this broad Commerce Clause power: regulating intrastate commerce is largely left to states, public land use is about property and resource management, and monetary policy falls under separate federal authorities beyond commerce regulation.