Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge

Federal Government, 1837

In 1785, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts had granted a charter to the Charles River Bridge Company, allowing it to construct and operate a toll bridge between Boston and Cambridge. Later, in 1828, a second bridge company received authorization for construction of a competing link across the Charles River. The initial entity sued, claiming that their charter had granted them a monopoly on such traffic.

The Court under Chief Justice Roger B. Taney held that the original charter had not specifically granted a monopoly and that the “general welfare” would be enhanced by opening a second bridge. This amounted to a significant modification of the Dartmouth College Case, which had found that states could not alter contracts. Taney acknowledged that only Congress had the power to regulate interstate commerce, but the states possessed a “police power,” entitling them to enact regulatory laws for the public benefit.

In this case, the Taney court was acting fully in accord with the spirit of Jacksonian democracy, placing the public good ahead of property rights.