The ICC, the first regulatory commission in U.S. history, was established as a result of mounting public indignation in the 1880s against railroad malpractices and abuses (see Granger movement), but until President Theodore Roosevelt, the ICC's effectiveness was limited by the failure of Congress to give it enforcement power, by the Supreme Court's interpretation of its powers, and by the vague language of its enabling act. Beginning with the Hepburn Act (1906), the ICC's jurisdiction was gradually extended beyond railroads to all common carriers except airplanes by 1940. Its enforcement powers to set rates were also progressively extended, through statute and broadened Supreme Court interpretations of the commerce clause of the Constitution, as were its investigative powers for determining fair rates of return on which to base rates. In addition, the ICC was given the task of consolidating railroad systems and managing labor disputes in interstate transport. In the 1950s and 60s the ICC enforced U.S. Supreme Court rulings that required the desegregation of passenger terminal facilities.
The ICC's safety functions were transferred to the Dept. of Transportation when that department was created in 1966; the ICC retained its rate-making and regulatory functions. However, in consonance with the deregulatory movement, the ICC's powers over rates and routes in rails and trucking were curtailed in 1980 by the Staggers Rail Act and Motor Carriers Act. Most ICC control over interstate trucking was abandoned in 1994, and the agency was terminated at the end of 1995. Many of its remaining functions were transferred to the new National Surface Transportation Board.
In the U.S., any commercial transaction or traffic that crosses state boundaries or that involves more than one state. Government regulation of interstate commerce is founded on the commerce clause of the Constitution (Article I, section 8), which authorizes Congress “To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with Indian Tribes.” The Interstate Commerce Commission, established in 1887, was originally intended to regulate the railroad industry; its jurisdiction was later expanded to include trucks, ships, freight forwarders, and other interstate carriers. The Sherman Act (1890), followed by the Clayton Act (1914), made illegal any act that tended to interfere with free competition between and among industries, businesses, and any interstate commercial venture. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was established by the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914, which gave the FTC powers—judicial, legislative, and executive—to administer the Sherman and Clayton acts. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was created to protect the right of the public to the airwaves through licensing and oversight of the practices of broadcasters in radio and television. In the 20th century, court decisions tended to interpret interstate commerce broadly, thus allowing Congress to regulate a wide variety of activities by which interstate commerce could be affected, even if they took place within the borders of a single state. One such decision was Heart of Atlanta Motel v. U.S. (1964), in which the Supreme Court upheld the prohibition of discrimination in public accommodations contained in the 1964 Civil Rights Act on the ground that the discriminatory practices of a business operating in only one state could affect interstate commerce.
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(1887–1995) First regulatory agency established in the U.S. and a prototype for independent government regulatory bodies. An agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation, it was responsible for the economic regulation of interstate surface transportation, including railroads, trucking companies, and buslines. It certified carriers, regulated rates, oversaw mergers, and approved railroad construction. The ICC was dissolved in 1995.
Learn more about Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) with a free trial on Britannica.com.
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