Federal Government
Munn v. Illinois (1877)
The Granger Cases

During the height of the 1870s depression, the Illinois legislature responded to the pleas of embattled farmers by enacting a law that established a maximum charge that could be imposed by grain storage facility operators. The matter was contested in the courts and found its way to the Supreme Court in 1876 and was finally decided by a 7-2 vote, in March 1877.

The majority upheld the Illinois law and reasoned that a state has a legitimate police power to regulate private enterprises that may adversely impact the public interest. The Court refused to accept the operators' arguments that the due process clause had been violated or that a state role in commerce regulation clashed with the Congressional role.

Munn v. Illinois introduced a short era in which U.S. public utilities were subjected to increased scrutiny. The Court later upheld state efforts to regulate railroad rates. Critics bemoaned the growth of socialism in the country, fearing that private enterprise was being hobbled.

The Court would abruptly reverse direction in the Wabash case of 1886.

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