Commerce Abuse | William J. Watkins, Jr. | The Independent Institute

Commerce Abuse | William J. Watkins, Jr.:

In 1942, the Court considered the constitutionality ofPresident Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Agricultural Adjustment Act. In Wickard v. Filburn, the Court was presented with the question of whether Congress could regulate a farmer’s growing of wheat intended solely for consumption on his farm. A local activity, lectured the Court, can “be reached by Congress if it exerts a substantial economic effect on interstate commerce.” Although the 11.9 acres of wheat in question did not seem to affect interstate commerce, the Court reasoned that the farmer’s wheat, “taken together with that of many others similarly situated, is far from trivial.” Because the growing of wheat for home consumption by hundreds or thousands of farmers could affect the demand and price of wheat, the acts of a solitary bucolic soul fall under Congress’ power to regulate commerce.