Gibbons v. Ogden - Implications For The Future

The immediate impact of Gibbons v. Ogden was to open up the field for a wide range of steamship companies, and, consequently, to promote nationwide steamship travel and commerce in the United States. However, the ruling had even more far-reaching implications. For example, when railroads, telegraphs, telephones, oil and gas pipelines, and airplanes were developed, they relied upon the protection of Gibbons v. Ogden to operate across state borders. Even today, when questions of interstate commerce come before the Court, the case of Gibbons v. Ogden helps to shape the Court's decisions.