Interstate Commerce Commission
Encyclopedia
The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory body in the United States
created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887
. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking
) to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carrier
s, including interstate bus lines
and telephone
companies. The agency was abolished in 1995, and its remaining functions were transferred to the Surface Transportation Board
.
The Commission's five members were appointed by the President
with the consent of the United States Senate
. This was the first independent agency
(or so-called Fourth Branch
).
. The creation of the commission was the result of widespread and longstanding anti-railroad agitation. Western farmers, specifically those of the Grange Movement
, were the dominant force behind the unrest, but Westerners generally — especially those in rural areas — believed that the railroads possessed economic power that they systematically abused. A central issue was rate discrimination between similarly situated customers and communities. Other potent issues included alleged attempts by railroads to obtain influence over city
and state
governments and the widespread practice of granting free transportation in the form of yearly passes to opinion leaders (elected officials, newspaper editors, ministers, and so on) so as to dampen any opposition to railroad practices.
Various sections of the Interstate Commerce Act banned "personal discrimination" and required shipping rates to be "just and reasonable."
Following passage of the 1887 act, the ICC proceeded to set maximum shipping rates for railroads. However, in the late 1890s several railroads challenged the agency's ratemaking authority in litigation, and the courts
severely limited the ICC's powers.
expanded the commission's powers through subsequent legislation. The 1893 Railroad Safety Appliance Act
gave the ICC jurisdiction over railroad safety, removing this authority from the states, and this was followed with amendments in 1903 and 1910. The Hepburn Act
of 1906 authorized the ICC to set maximum railroad rates, and extended the agency's authority to cover bridges, terminals, ferries, sleeping cars, express companies and oil pipelines.
A long-standing controversy was how to interpret language in the Act that banned long haul-short haul fare discrimination. The Mann-Elkins Act
of 1910 addressed this question by strengthening ICC authority over railroad rates, This amendment also expanded the ICC's jurisdiction to include regulation of telephone
, telegraph
and wireless
companies. In 1934, Congress transferred the telecommunications authority to the new Federal Communications Commission
.
In 1935, Congress passed the Motor Carrier Act, which extended ICC authority to regulate interstate bus lines and trucking as common carriers.
, a professor of political economy at Harvard University, wrote up ICC's plan for the regional consolidation of the U.S. railways. His plan became known as the Ripley Plan. In 1929 the ICC published Ripley's Plan under the title Complete Plan of Consolidation. Numerous hearings were held by ICC regarding the plan under the topic "In the Matter of Consolidation of the Railways of the United States into a Limited Number of Systems".
The proposed 21 regional railroads were as follows:
s that were also proposed. Below is a sample:
issues when passengers filed complaints.
In at least two landmark cases, however, the Commission sided with the railroads rather than with the African-American passengers who had filed complaints. In both Mitchell v. United States (1941) and Henderson v. United States, the Supreme Court took a more expansive view of the Act than the Commission. In 1962, the ICC banned racial discrimination in buses and bus stations, but it did not do so until several months after a binding pro-integration Supreme Court decision Boynton v. Virginia and the Freedom Rides (in which activists engaged in civil disobedience to desegregate interstate buses).
The limitation on railroad rates in 1906-07 depreciated the value of railroad securities, a factor in causing the panic of 1907
.
Some economists and historians, such as Milton Friedman
assert that existing railroad interests took advantage of ICC regulations to strengthen their control of the industry and prevent competition, constituting regulatory capture
.
Economist David D. Friedman
argues that the ICC always served the railroads as a cartelizing agent and used its authority over other forms of transportation to prevent them, where possible, from undercutting the railroads.
measures in the 1970s and 1980s which diminished ICC authority, including the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act
of 1976. the Motor Carrier Act of 1980
and the Staggers Rail Act
of 1980. Senator Fred R. Harris
of Oklahoma
was a strong supporter of abolishing the Commission. In 1995, when most of the ICC's powers had been eliminated, Congress finally abolished the agency with the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act
. Final Chair Gail McDonald
oversaw transferring its remaining functions to the Surface Transportation Board
.
Prior to its abolition, the ICC issued identification numbers to Motor Carriers (bus lines, shipping companies, etc.) which it issued licenses. These identification numbers were generally in the form of ICC MC-000000. When the ICC was dissolved, the function of licensing interstate Motor Carriers was transferred to the Department of Transportation, so now all motor carriers which have federal licenses have a different "DOT number" such as DOT 000000.
(1914), the Federal Communications Commission
(1934), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (1934), the National Labor Relations Board
(1935), the Civil Aeronautics Board (1940), Postal Regulatory Commission (1970) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission
(1975). In recent decades, this regulatory structure of independent Federal agencies has gone out of fashion; the agencies created after the 1970s generally have single heads appointed by the President and are divisions inside executive Cabinet Departments (e.g., the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(1970) or the Transportation Security Administration
(2002)). The trend is the same at the state level, though it is probably less pronounced.
provides (§§ 101-104; also § 73) for the establishment of an Inter-State Commission
, modeled after the United States' Interstate Commerce Commission. However, these provisions have largely not been put into practice; the Commission existed between 1913–1920, and 1975–1989, but never assumed the role which Australia's founders had intended for it.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887
Interstate Commerce Act of 1887
The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 is a United States federal law that was designed to regulate the railroad industry, particularly its monopolistic practices. The Act required that railroad rates be "reasonable and just," but did not empower the government to fix specific rates...
. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking
Trucking industry in the United States
The trucking industry involves the transport and distribution of commercial and industrial goods using commercial motor vehicles . In this case, CMVs are most often trucks; usually semi trucks, box trucks, or dump trucks...
) to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carrier
Common carrier
A common carrier in common-law countries is a person or company that transports goods or people for any person or company and that is responsible for any possible loss of the goods during transport...
s, including interstate bus lines
Public transport bus service
Bus services play a major role in the provision of public transport. These services can take many forms, varying in distance covered and types of vehicle used, and can operate with fixed or flexible routes and schedules...
and telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
companies. The agency was abolished in 1995, and its remaining functions were transferred to the Surface Transportation Board
Surface Transportation Board
The Surface Transportation Board of the United States is a bipartisan, decisionally-independent adjudicatory body organizationally housed within the U.S. Department of Transportation. The STB was established in 1996 to assume some of the regulatory functions that had been administered by the...
.
The Commission's five members were appointed by the President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
with the consent of the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. This was the first independent agency
Independent agencies of the United States government
Independent agencies of the United States federal government are those agencies that exist outside of the federal executive departments...
(or so-called Fourth Branch
Fourth branch of government
In the American political system, the fourth branch of government refers to a group that influences the three branches of governance defined in the American Constitution . Such groups can include the press , the people, and interest groups. U.S...
).
Creation
The ICC was established by the 1887 act, which was signed into law by President Grover ClevelandGrover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
. The creation of the commission was the result of widespread and longstanding anti-railroad agitation. Western farmers, specifically those of the Grange Movement
Grange movement
The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, also simply styled the Grange, is a fraternal organization for American farmers that encourages farm families to band together for their common economic and political well-being...
, were the dominant force behind the unrest, but Westerners generally — especially those in rural areas — believed that the railroads possessed economic power that they systematically abused. A central issue was rate discrimination between similarly situated customers and communities. Other potent issues included alleged attempts by railroads to obtain influence over city
Local government in the United States
Local government in the United States is generally structured in accordance with the laws of the various individual states. Typically each state has at least two separate tiers: counties and municipalities. Some states have their counties divided into townships...
and state
State governments of the United States
State governments in the United States are those republics formed by citizens in the jurisdiction thereof as provided by the United States Constitution; with the original 13 States forming the first Articles of Confederation, and later the aforementioned Constitution. Within the U.S...
governments and the widespread practice of granting free transportation in the form of yearly passes to opinion leaders (elected officials, newspaper editors, ministers, and so on) so as to dampen any opposition to railroad practices.
Various sections of the Interstate Commerce Act banned "personal discrimination" and required shipping rates to be "just and reasonable."
Initial implementation and legal challenges
The Commission had a troubled start because the law that created it failed to give it adequate enforcement powers.- "The Commission is, or can be made, of great use to the railroads. It satisfies the popular clamor for a government supervision of the railroads, while at the same time that supervision is almost entirely nominal." - William H. H. Miller, US Attorney General, circa 1889.
Following passage of the 1887 act, the ICC proceeded to set maximum shipping rates for railroads. However, in the late 1890s several railroads challenged the agency's ratemaking authority in litigation, and the courts
United States federal courts
The United States federal courts make up the judiciary branch of federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government.-Categories:...
severely limited the ICC's powers.
Expansion of ICC authority
CongressUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
expanded the commission's powers through subsequent legislation. The 1893 Railroad Safety Appliance Act
Railroad Safety Appliance Act
The Safety Appliance Act is a United States federal law that made air brakes and automatic couplers mandatory on all trains in the United States. It was enacted on March 2, 1893 and took effect in 1900, after a 7 year grace period...
gave the ICC jurisdiction over railroad safety, removing this authority from the states, and this was followed with amendments in 1903 and 1910. The Hepburn Act
Hepburn Act
The Hepburn Act is a 1906 United States federal law that gave the Interstate Commerce Commission the power to set maximum railroad rates. This led to the discontinuation of free passes to loyal shippers. In addition, the ICC could view the railroads' financial records, a task simplified by...
of 1906 authorized the ICC to set maximum railroad rates, and extended the agency's authority to cover bridges, terminals, ferries, sleeping cars, express companies and oil pipelines.
A long-standing controversy was how to interpret language in the Act that banned long haul-short haul fare discrimination. The Mann-Elkins Act
Mann-Elkins Act
The Mann–Elkins Act was a 1910 United States federal law that is among the Progressive era reforms. The Act extended the authority of the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate the telecommunications industry, and designated telephone, telegraph and wireless companies as common...
of 1910 addressed this question by strengthening ICC authority over railroad rates, This amendment also expanded the ICC's jurisdiction to include regulation of telephone
Telephone company
A telephone company is a service provider of telecommunications services such as telephony and data communications access. Many were at one time nationalized or state-regulated monopolies...
, telegraph
Telegraphy
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages via some form of signalling technology. Telegraphy requires messages to be converted to a code which is known to both sender and receiver...
and wireless
Wireless telegraphy
Wireless telegraphy is a historical term used today to apply to early radio telegraph communications techniques and practices, particularly those used during the first three decades of radio before the term radio came into use....
companies. In 1934, Congress transferred the telecommunications authority to the new Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
.
In 1935, Congress passed the Motor Carrier Act, which extended ICC authority to regulate interstate bus lines and trucking as common carriers.
Ripley Plan to consolidate railroads into regional systems
The Transportation Act of 1920 directed the Interstate Commerce Commission to prepare and adopt a plan for the consolidation of the railway properties of the United States into a limited number of systems. Between 1920–3 William Z. RipleyWilliam Z. Ripley
William Zebina Ripley was an American economist, lecturer at Columbia University, professor of economics at MIT, professor of political economics at Harvard University, and racial theorist...
, a professor of political economy at Harvard University, wrote up ICC's plan for the regional consolidation of the U.S. railways. His plan became known as the Ripley Plan. In 1929 the ICC published Ripley's Plan under the title Complete Plan of Consolidation. Numerous hearings were held by ICC regarding the plan under the topic "In the Matter of Consolidation of the Railways of the United States into a Limited Number of Systems".
The proposed 21 regional railroads were as follows:
- Boston and Maine RailroadBoston and Maine RailroadThe Boston and Maine Corporation , known as the Boston and Maine Railroad until 1964, was the dominant railroad of the northern New England region of the United States for a century...
; Maine Central RailroadMaine Central RailroadThe Maine Central Railroad Company was a railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. It operated a mainline between South Portland, Maine, east to the Canada-U.S...
; Bangor and Aroostook RailroadBangor and Aroostook RailroadThe Bangor and Aroostook Railroad is a defunct United States railroad company, that brought rail service to Aroostook County, Maine. Brightly painted BAR box cars attracted national attention in the 1950s. First-generation diesel locomotives operated on BAR until they were museum pieces...
; Delaware and Hudson Railroad - New Haven Railroad; New York, Ontario and Western RailwayNew York, Ontario and Western RailwayThe New York, Ontario and Western Railway, more commonly known as the O&W or NYO&W, was a regional railroad with origins in 1868, lasting until March 29, 1957 when it was ordered liquidated by a US bankruptcy judge. The O&W holds the distinction of being the first major U.S...
; Lehigh and Hudson River RailwayLehigh and Hudson River RailwayThe Lehigh and Hudson River Railway was the smallest of the six railroads that were merged into Conrail in 1976. It was a bridge line running northeast-southwest across northwestern New Jersey, connecting the line to the Poughkeepsie Bridge at Maybrook, New York with Easton, Pennsylvania, where it...
; Lehigh and New England RailroadLehigh and New England RailroadThe Lehigh and New England Railroad was a connection from northeastern Pennsylvania towards the Poughkeepsie Bridge across the Hudson River. Originally planned as a continuous line east to Boston, plans were later cut back to a section west of the river.... - New York Central RailroadNew York Central RailroadThe New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
; Rutland RailroadRutland RailroadThe Rutland Railway was a small railroad in the northeastern United States, primarily in the state of Vermont but extending into the state of New York. The earliest ancestor of the Rutland, the Rutland & Burlington Railroad, was chartered in 1843 by the state of Vermont to build between Rutland...
; Virginian RailwayVirginian RailwayThe Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads....
; Chicago, Attica and Southern RailroadChicago, Attica and Southern RailroadThe Chicago, Attica and Southern Railroad , nicknamed the "Dolly Varden Line", was a railroad linking small towns in west central and northwestern Indiana to the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railway near Momence, Illinois... - Pennsylvania RailroadPennsylvania RailroadThe Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
; Long Island Rail RoadLong Island Rail RoadThe Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US... - Baltimore and Ohio RailroadBaltimore and Ohio RailroadThe Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
; Central Railroad of New JerseyCentral Railroad of New JerseyThe Central Railroad of New Jersey , commonly known as the Jersey Central Lines or CNJ, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s, lasting until 1976 when it was absorbed into Conrail with the other bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States...
; Reading Railroad; Buffalo and Susquehanna RailroadBuffalo and Susquehanna RailroadThe Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad was a railroad company that formerly operated in western and north central Pennsylvania and western New York states. It was created in 1893 by the merger and consolidation of several smaller logging railroads. It operated independently until 1929 when a...
; Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh RailwayBuffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh RailwayThe Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway was one of the more than ten thousand railroad companies founded in North America, most of which came and went. It lasted much longer than most, serving communities from the shore of Lake Ontario to the center of western Pennsylvania.One of the minor...
; 50% of Detroit, Toledo and Ironton RailroadDetroit, Toledo and Ironton RailroadThe Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad was a railroad that operated between its namesake cities of Detroit, Michigan and Ironton, Ohio via Toledo between 1905 and 1983.-Early history:...
; 50% of Detroit and Toledo Shore Line RailroadDetroit and Toledo Shore Line RailroadThe Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad is a historic railroad that operated in northwestern Ohio and southeastern Michigan.The Pleasant Bay Railway was incorporated in Michigan in March 1898 and purchased the Toledo and Ottawa Beach Railway, an Ohio company incorporated in January 1898, in...
; 50% of Monon RailroadMonon RailroadThe Monon Railroad , also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway from 1897–1956, operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana...
; Chicago and Alton Railroad (Alton RailroadAlton RailroadThe Alton Railroad was the final name of a railroad linking Chicago to Alton, Illinois, St. Louis, Missouri, and Kansas City, Missouri. Its predecessor, the Chicago and Alton Railroad , was purchased by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1931 and was controlled until 1942 when the Alton was...
) - Chesapeake and Ohio-Nickel Plate Road; Hocking Valley RailwayHocking Valley RailwayThe Hocking Valley Railway was a railroad in the U.S. state of Ohio, with a main line from Toledo to Athens and Pomeroy via Columbus. It also had several branches to the coal mines of the Hocking Valley near Athens...
; Erie RailroadErie RailroadThe Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
; Pere Marquette RailwayPere Marquette RailwayThe Pere Marquette Railway was a railroad that operated in the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada. The railroad had trackage in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and the Canadian province of Ontario. Its primary connections included Buffalo; Toledo; and Chicago.The company was...
; Delaware, Lackawanna and Western RailroadDelaware, Lackawanna and Western RailroadThe Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company was a railroad connecting Pennsylvania's Lackawanna Valley, rich in anthracite coal, to Hoboken, New Jersey, , Buffalo and Oswego, New York...
; Bessemer and Lake Erie RailroadBessemer and Lake Erie RailroadThe Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad is a class II railroad that operates in northwestern Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio.The railroad's main route runs from the Lake Erie port of Conneaut, Ohio to the Pittsburgh suburb of Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, a distance of 139 miles...
; Chicago and Illinois Midland Railroad; 50% of Detroit and Toledo Shore Line RailroadDetroit and Toledo Shore Line RailroadThe Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad is a historic railroad that operated in northwestern Ohio and southeastern Michigan.The Pleasant Bay Railway was incorporated in Michigan in March 1898 and purchased the Toledo and Ottawa Beach Railway, an Ohio company incorporated in January 1898, in... - Wabash-Seaboard Air Line Railway; Lehigh Valley RailroadLehigh Valley RailroadThe Lehigh Valley Railroad was one of a number of railroads built in the northeastern United States primarily to haul anthracite coal.It was authorized April 21, 1846 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and incorporated September 20, 1847 as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad...
; Wheeling and Lake Erie RailwayWheeling and Lake Erie Railway (1916-1988)The Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway was a Class I railroad mostly within the U.S. state of Ohio. It was leased to the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad in 1949, and merged into the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1988...
; Pittsburgh and West Virginia RailwayPittsburgh and West Virginia RailwayThe Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway was a railroad in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Wheeling, West Virginia areas. Originally built as the Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway, a Pittsburgh extension of George J. Gould's Wabash Railroad, the venture entered receivership in 1908 and the line...
; Western Maryland RailwayWestern Maryland RailwayThe Western Maryland Railway was an American Class I railroad which operated in Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It was primarily a coal hauling and freight railroad, with a small passenger train operation. The WM became part of the Chessie System in 1973 and ceased operating its lines...
; Akron, Canton and Youngstown Railway; Norfolk and Western RailwayNorfolk and Western RailwayThe Norfolk and Western Railway , a US class I railroad, was formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It had headquarters in Roanoke, Virginia for most of its 150 year existence....
; 50% of Detroit, Toledo and Ironton RailroadDetroit, Toledo and Ironton RailroadThe Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad was a railroad that operated between its namesake cities of Detroit, Michigan and Ironton, Ohio via Toledo between 1905 and 1983.-Early history:...
; Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad; Ann Arbor Railroad; 50% of Winston-Salem Southbound RailwayWinston-Salem Southbound RailwayThe Winston-Salem Southbound Railway is a short-line railroad jointly owned by CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway , which provide it with equipment... - Atlantic Coast Line RailroadAtlantic Coast Line RailroadThe Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was an American railroad that existed between 1900 and 1967, when it merged with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, its long-time rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad...
; Louisville and Nashville RailroadLouisville and Nashville RailroadThe Louisville and Nashville Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the L&N, as it was generally known, grew into one of the great success stories of American business...
; Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis RailwayNashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis RailwayThe Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway was a railway company operating in the southern United States in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia...
; Clinchfield RailroadClinchfield RailroadThe Clinchfield Railroad was an operating and holding company for the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway . The line ran from the coalfields of Virginia and Elkhorn City, Kentucky, to the textile mills of South Carolina...
; Atlanta, Birmingham and Coast RailroadAtlanta, Birmingham and Coast RailroadThe Atlanta, Birmingham and Coast Railroad was organized in 1926 to replace the Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railway. The AB&C was controlled by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, which owned a majority of the stock. In 1946, the AB&C was bought by the ACL and the became the latter company's...
; Mobile and Northern Railroad; New Orleans Great Northern Railroad; 25% of Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway (Monon Railway); 50% of Winston-Salem Southbound RailwayWinston-Salem Southbound RailwayThe Winston-Salem Southbound Railway is a short-line railroad jointly owned by CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway , which provide it with equipment... - Southern RailwaySouthern Railway (US)The Southern Railway is a former United States railroad. It was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894...
; Norfolk Southern Railroad; Tennessee Central RailwayTennessee Central RailwayThe Tennessee Central Railway was founded in 1884 as the Nashville and Knoxville Railroad by Alexander S. Crawford. It was an attempt to open up a rail route from the coal and minerals of East Tennessee to the markets of the midstate, a service which many businessmen felt was not being adequately...
(east of Nashville); Florida East Coast RailwayFlorida East Coast RailwayThe Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida; in the past, it has been a Class I railroad.Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a project of Standard Oil principal Henry Morrison...
; 25% of Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway (Monon Railway) - Illinois Central RailroadIllinois Central RailroadThe Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...
; Central of Georgia Railway; Minneapolis and St. Louis RailwayMinneapolis and St. Louis RailwayThe Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway was an American Class I railroad that built and operated lines radiating south and west from Minneapolis, Minnesota which existed for 90 years from 1870 to 1960....
; Tennessee Central RailwayTennessee Central RailwayThe Tennessee Central Railway was founded in 1884 as the Nashville and Knoxville Railroad by Alexander S. Crawford. It was an attempt to open up a rail route from the coal and minerals of East Tennessee to the markets of the midstate, a service which many businessmen felt was not being adequately...
(west of Nashville); St. Louis Southwestern RailwaySt. Louis Southwestern RailwayThe St. Louis Southwestern Railway , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply Cotton Belt, was organized on January 15, 1891, although it had its origins in a series of short lines founded in Tyler, Texas, in 1870 that connected northeastern Texas to Arkansas and southeastern...
(Cotton Belt Railway); Atlanta and St. Andrews Bay Railroad - Chicago and North Western RailwayChicago and North Western RailwayThe Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
; Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railway; Litchfield and Madison RailwayLitchfield and Madison RailwayThe Litchfield and Madison Railway was a Class I railroad in Illinois in the United States. Its nickname was the St. Louis Gateway Route. The railroad operated of track from its creation in 1900 until it was absorbed by the Chicago and North Western Railway in 1958.- History :In 1889-1890, the...
; Mobile and Ohio RailroadMobile and Ohio RailroadThe Mobile and Ohio Railroad was a railroad in the Southern U.S. The M&O was chartered in January and February 1848 by the states of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee. It was planned to span the distance between the seaport of Mobile, Alabama and the Ohio River near Cairo, Illinois...
; Columbus and Greenville RailwayColumbus and Greenville RailwayThere have been two uses of Columbus and Greenville Railway, both for the same rail line.-Original Columbus and Greenville:The first Columbus and Greenville Railway was formed by the sale of the Southern Railway operated Southern Railway in Mississippi, to local interests...
; Lake Superior and Ishpeming RailroadLake Superior and Ishpeming RailroadThe Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad , a U.S. railroad offering service from Marquette, Michigan, to nearby locations in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, began operations in 1896... - Great Northern-Northern Pacific RailwayNorthern Pacific RailwayThe Northern Pacific Railway was a railway that operated in the west along the Canadian border of the United States. Construction began in 1870 and the main line opened all the way from the Great Lakes to the Pacific when former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in...
; Spokane, Portland and Seattle RailwaySpokane, Portland and Seattle RailwayThe Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway was a United States-based railroad incorporated in 1905. It was a joint venture by the Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific Railway to build a railroad along the north bank of the Columbia River....
; 50% of Butte, Anaconda and Pacific RailwayButte, Anaconda and Pacific RailwayThe Butte, Anaconda and Pacific Railway is a short line railroad in the U.S. state of Montana which was founded in 1892. It was financed by the interests behind the Anaconda Copper Mining Company and operated primarily to carry copper ore from the mines at Butte, Montana to the smelters at... - Milwaukee Road; Escanaba and Lake Superior RailroadEscanaba and Lake Superior RailroadThe Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad is a privately held shortline railroad that operates in Northeastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The ELS has expanded from the original 65 miles that was purchased in 1978 to over 235 miles as of 2005....
; Duluth, Missabe and Northern Railway; Duluth and Iron Range Railroad; 50% of Butte, Anaconda and Pacific RailwayButte, Anaconda and Pacific RailwayThe Butte, Anaconda and Pacific Railway is a short line railroad in the U.S. state of Montana which was founded in 1892. It was financed by the interests behind the Anaconda Copper Mining Company and operated primarily to carry copper ore from the mines at Butte, Montana to the smelters at...
; trackage rightsTrackage rightsTrackage rights , running rights or running powers is an agreement whereby a railway company has the right to run its trains on tracks owned by another railway company....
on Spokane, Portland and Seattle RailwaySpokane, Portland and Seattle RailwayThe Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway was a United States-based railroad incorporated in 1905. It was a joint venture by the Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific Railway to build a railroad along the north bank of the Columbia River....
to Portland, OregonPortland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. - Burlington Route; Colorado and Southern RailwayColorado and Southern RailwayThe Colorado and Southern Railway was a railroad company in the western United States that operated independently from 1898 to 1908, then as part of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad until it was absorbed into the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1981.The railway began as the...
; Fort Worth and Denver RailwayFort Worth and Denver RailwayThe Fort Worth and Denver Railway , nicknamed "the Denver Road," was a class I American railroad company that operated in the northern part of Texas from 1881 to 1982, and had a profound influence on the early settlement and economic development of the region....
; Green Bay and Western RailroadGreen Bay and Western RailroadThe Green Bay and Western Railroad served the transportation and freight haulage needs of northern Wisconsin for almost 100 years before it was absorbed into the Wisconsin Central in 1993...
; Missouri-Kansas-Texas RailroadMissouri-Kansas-Texas RailroadThe Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad was incorporated May 23, 1870. In its earliest days the MKT was commonly referred to as "the K-T", which was its stock exchange symbol; this common designation soon evolved into "the Katy"....
; 50% of Trinity and Brazos Valley Railroad; Oklahoma City-Ada-Atoka RailwayOklahoma City-Ada-Atoka RailwayThe Oklahoma City – Ada – Atoka Railway was formed from trackage from Oklahoma City to Atoka via Shawnee and Ada, Oklahoma, that was not included in the 1923 reorganization of the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad.... - Union Pacific RailroadUnion Pacific RailroadThe Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
; Kansas City Southern RailwayKansas City Southern RailwayThe Kansas City Southern Railway , owned by Kansas City Southern Industries, is the smallest and second-oldest Class I railroad company still in operation. KCS was founded in 1887 and is currently operating in a region consisting of ten central U.S. states... - Southern Pacific RailroadSouthern Pacific RailroadThe Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
- Santa Fe Railway; Chicago Great Western RailwayChicago Great Western RailwayThe Chicago Great Western Railway was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha, and Kansas City. It was founded by Alpheus Beede Stickney in 1885 as a regional line between St. Paul and the Iowa state line called the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad...
; Kansas City, Mexico and Orient RailwayKansas City, Mexico and Orient RailwayThe Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway, started in 1900 by American railroad entrepreneur Arthur Edward Stilwell, was the predecessor to the Chihuahua al Pacífico railroad in Mexico. It was intended to reach the Pacific Ocean at Topolobampo, Sinaloa...
; Missouri and North Arkansas Railway; Midland Valley RailroadMidland Valley RailroadThe Midland Valley Railroad was incorporated in 1903 for the purpose of building a line from Hoye, Arkansas, through Muskogee and Tulsa, Oklahoma to Wichita, Kansas. The railroad took its name from Midland, Arkansas, a coal mining town in western Arkansas which was served by the railroad...
; Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern RailwayMinneapolis, Northfield and Southern RailwayThe Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway was an long American short line railroad connecting Minneapolis and Northfield, Minnesota. It was incorporated in 1918 to take over the trackage of the former Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester and Dubuque Electric Traction Company, also known as... - Missouri Pacific RailroadMissouri Pacific RailroadThe Missouri Pacific Railroad , also known as the MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers, including the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway , Texas and Pacific...
; Texas and Pacific RailwayTexas and Pacific RailwayThe Texas and Pacific Railway Company was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California....
; Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf RailwayKansas, Oklahoma and Gulf RailwayThe Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway was formed on July 31, 1919 from the assets of the bankrupt Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway. The KO&G largely consisted of a single line from Baxter Springs, Kansas, to Denison, Texas, prior to its purchase by Missouri Pacific's Texas and Pacific Railway...
; Denver and Rio Grande Western RailroadDenver and Rio Grande Western RailroadThe Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to Rio Grande or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, is a defunct U.S. railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado in 1870; however, served mainly as a transcontinental...
; Denver and Salt Lake Railroad; Western Pacific RailroadWestern Pacific RailroadThe Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California...
; Fort Smith and Western RailroadFort Smith and Western RailroadThe Fort Smith and Western Railway was a railroad that operated in the states of Arkansas and Oklahoma.The railroad's main line extended , from Coal Creek, Oklahoma to Guthrie, Oklahoma, with an additional of trackage rights over the Kansas City Southern Railway between Fort Smith, Arkansas and... - Rock IslandChicago, Rock Island and Pacific RailroadThe Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.-Incorporation:...
-Frisco RailwaySt. Louis-San Francisco RailwayThe St. Louis – San Francisco Railway , also known as the Frisco, was a railroad that operated in the Midwest and South Central U.S. from 1876 to 1980.-History:...
; Alabama, Tennessee and Northern RailroadAlabama, Tennessee and Northern RailroadThe Alabama, Tennessee and Northern Railroad was a short line railroad operating within the state of Alabama. It was founded in 1897 as the Carrollton Short Line Railway to link the city of Carrollton, Alabama with the Mobile and Ohio Railroad at Reform, Alabama. Through mergers, acquisitions...
; 50% of Trinity and Brazos Valley Railroad; Louisiana and Arkansas RailwayLouisiana and Arkansas RailwayThe Louisiana and Arkansas Railway was a railroad that operated in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. The railroad's main line extended 332 miles, from Hope, Arkansas to Shreveport and New Orleans...
; Meridian and Bigbee Railroad - Canadian National; Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee RailwayDetroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee RailwayThe Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee Railway is a defunct railroad which operated in the US state of Michigan during the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
; Grand Trunk Western Railway - Canadian Pacific; Soo LineMinneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie RailroadThe Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad was a Class I railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the Midwest U.S. Commonly known as the Soo Line after the phonetic spelling of Sault, it was merged with several other major CP subsidiaries on January 1, 1961 to form the...
; Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic RailwayDuluth, South Shore and Atlantic RailwayThe Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway was an American railroad serving the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Lake Superior shoreline of Wisconsin. It provided service from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and St. Ignace, Michigan, westward through Marquette, Michigan to Superior, Wisconsin,...
; Mineral Range Railroad http://www.michiganrailroads.com/RRHX/Miscellaneous/ICCPlan.htm
Terminal railroads proposed
There were 100 terminal railroadTerminal Railroad
Terminal Railroad or Terminal Railway may refer to:*Terminal railroad, a railroad that operates a terminal facility*Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks*Terminal Railway of Buffalo, predecessor of the New York Central Railroad...
s that were also proposed. Below is a sample:
- Toledo Terminal RailroadToledo Terminal RailroadToledo Terminal Railroad was a railway company in the U.S. state of Ohio. Primarily a switching railroad, it made a complete loop around the city of Toledo, crossing the Maumee River twice....
; Detroit Terminal Railroad; Kankakee & Seneca Railroad - Indianapolis Union RailwayIndianapolis Union RailwayThe Indianapolis Union Railway Company , is a terminal railroad operating in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was organized on May 31, 1850, as the Union Track Railway Company by the presidents of the Madison and Indianapolis Railroad Company , the Terre Haute and Richmond Railroad Company , and the...
; Boston Terminal; Ft. Wayne Union Railway; Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad - Toledo, Angola & Western Railway
- Akron and Barberton Belt RailroadAkron and Barberton Belt RailroadThe Akron and Barberton Belt Railroad was a switching railroad that was built to serve various industries around cities of Barberton and Akron in Ohio. The main purpose was to switch chemical cars for Pittsburgh Plate Glass, Babcox and Wilcox Companies as well as O.C. Barber's match works, all in...
; Canton Railroad; Muskegon Railway & Navigation - Philadelphia Belt Line RailroadPhiladelphia Belt Line RailroadThe Philadelphia Belt Line Railroad owns a long railroad line running along the Delaware River waterfront in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was created in 1889 to allow any Philadelphia railroad to access the waterfront...
; Fort Street Union Depot; Detroit Union Railroad Depot & Station; 15 other properties throughout the United States - St. Louis & O'Fallon Railway; Detroit & Western Railway; Flint Belt Railroad; 63 other properties throughout the United States
- Youngstown & Northern Railroad; Delray Connecting Railroad; Wyandotte Southern Railroad; Wyandotte Terminal Railroad; South Brooklyn Railway
Plan abandoned
In the Transportation Act of 1940, Congress repudiated the Consolidated Plan, and the plan was abandoned.Racial integration of transport
Although racial discrimination was never a major focus of its efforts, the ICC had to address civil rightsCivil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
issues when passengers filed complaints.
History
- April 28, 1941 - In Mitchell v. United States, the United States Supreme Court rules that discrimination in which a colored man who had paid a first class fare for an interstate journey was compelled to leave that car and ride in a second class car was essentially unjust, and violated the Interstate Commerce Act. The court thus overturns an ICC order dismissing a complaint against an interstate carrier.
- June 3, 1946 - In Morgan v. VirginiaIrene MorganIrene Morgan , later known as Irene Morgan Kirkaldy, was an important predecessor to Rosa Parks in the successful fight to overturn segregation laws in the United States...
, the Supreme Court invalidates provisions of the Virginia Code which require the separation of white and colored passengers where applied to interstate bus transport. The state law is unconstitutional insofar as it is burdening interstate commerce, an area of federal jurisdiction. - June 5, 1950 - In Henderson v. United StatesHenderson v. United StatesHenderson v. United States, 339 U.S. 816 , was a landmark United States Supreme Court decision in the jurisprudence of the United States that abolished segregation in railroad dining cars.-The decision:On May 17, 1942, Elmer W...
, the Supreme Court rules to abolish segregationRacial segregationRacial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
of reserved tables in railroad dining carDining carA dining car or restaurant carriage , also diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant....
s. The Southern Railway had reserved tables in such a way as to allocate one table conditionally for blacks and multiple tables for whites; a black passenger traveling first-class was not served in the dining car as the one reserved table was in use. The ICC ruled the discrimination to be an error in judgement on the part of an individual dining car steward; both the United States District Court for the District of MarylandUnited States District Court for the District of MarylandThe United States District Court for the District of Maryland is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Maryland....
and the Supreme Court disagreed, finding the published policies of the railroad itself to be in violation of the Interstate Commerce Act. - September 1, 1953 - In Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach CompanySarah Keys v. Carolina Coach CompanySarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company, 64 MCC 769 is a landmark civil rights case in the United States in which the Interstate Commerce Commission, in response to a bus segregation complaint filed in 1953 by a Women's Army Corps private named Sarah Louise Keys, broke with its historic adherence to...
, Women's Army CorpsWomen's Army CorpsThe Women's Army Corps was the women's branch of the US Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps on 15 May 1942 by Public Law 554, and converted to full status as the WAC in 1943...
private Sarah Keys, represented by civil rightsCivil rightsCivil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
lawyer Dovey Roundtree, becomes the first black to challenge the "separate but equalSeparate but equalSeparate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law that justified systems of segregation. Under this doctrine, services, facilities and public accommodations were allowed to be separated by race, on the condition that the quality of each group's public facilities was to...
" doctrine in bus segregation before the ICC. While the initial ICC reviewing commissioner declined to accept the case, claiming Brown v. Board of EducationBrown v. Board of EducationBrown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
(1954) "did not preclude segregation in a private business such as a bus company," Roundtree ultimately prevailed in obtaining a review by the full eleven-person commission. - November 7, 1955 – ICC bans bus segregation in interstate travel in Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company. This extends the logic of Brown v. Board of Education, a precedent ending the use of "separate but equal" as a defence against discrimination claims in education, to bus travel across state lines.
- December 5, 1960 - In Boynton v. VirginiaBoynton v. VirginiaBoynton v. Virginia, 364 U.S. 454 was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States. The case overturned a judgment convicting an African American law student for trespassing by being in a restaurant in a bus terminal which was "whites only." It held that racial segregation in public...
, the Supreme Court holds that racial segregation in bus terminalsBus stationA bus station is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. It is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can stop...
is illegal because such segregation violates the Interstate Commerce Act. This ruling, in combination with the ICC's 1955 decision in Keys v. Carolina Coach, effectively outlaws segregation on interstate buses and at the terminals servicing such buses. - May 4, 1961 - The first Freedom RideFreedom rideFreedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated southern United States to test the United States Supreme Court decisions Boynton v. Virginia and Morgan v. Virginia...
leaves Washington D.C. with nominal scheduled destination of New OrleansNew Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, only to encounter mob violence in AlabamaAlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. On May 24, freedom riders were the target of passenger arrests in MississippiMississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. The more than sixty Freedom Rides in the months that followed were to gain national attention, with more than 300 arrested in Jackson, MississippiJackson, MississippiJackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
alone in a few short months. - September 23, 1961 - The ICC, at Attorney General Robert F. KennedyRobert F. KennedyRobert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
’s insistence, issues new rules ending discrimination in interstate travel. Effective November 1, 1961, six years after the commission's own ruling in Keys v. Carolina Coach Company, all interstate buses required to display a certificate that reads: “Seating aboard this vehicle is without regard to race, color, creed, or national origin, by order of the Interstate Commerce Commission.”
Relationship between regulatory body and the regulated
A friendly relationship between the regulators and the regulated is evident in several early civil rights cases. Throughout the South, railroads had established segregated facilities for sleeping cars, coaches and dining cars. At the same time, the plain language of the Act (forbidding "undue or unreasonable preference" as well as "personal discrimination") could be read as an implied invitation for activist regulators to chip away at racial discrimination.- "It shall be unlawful for any common carrier subject to the provisions of this part to make, give, or cause any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage to any particular person, company, firm, corporation, association, locality, port, port district, gateway, transit point, region, district, territory, or any particular description of traffic, in any respect whatsoever; or to subject any particular person, company, firm, corporation, association, locality, port, port district, gateway, transit point, region, district, territory, or any particular description of traffic to any undue or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage in any respect whatsoever. . ."
In at least two landmark cases, however, the Commission sided with the railroads rather than with the African-American passengers who had filed complaints. In both Mitchell v. United States (1941) and Henderson v. United States, the Supreme Court took a more expansive view of the Act than the Commission. In 1962, the ICC banned racial discrimination in buses and bus stations, but it did not do so until several months after a binding pro-integration Supreme Court decision Boynton v. Virginia and the Freedom Rides (in which activists engaged in civil disobedience to desegregate interstate buses).
Criticism
Panic of 1907
The Panic of 1907, also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic, was a financial crisis that occurred in the United States when the New York Stock Exchange fell almost 50% from its peak the previous year. Panic occurred, as this was during a time of economic recession, and there were numerous runs on...
.
Some economists and historians, such as Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman was an American economist, statistician, academic, and author who taught at the University of Chicago for more than three decades...
assert that existing railroad interests took advantage of ICC regulations to strengthen their control of the industry and prevent competition, constituting regulatory capture
Regulatory capture
In economics, regulatory capture occurs when a state regulatory agency created to act in the public interest instead advances the commercial or special interests that dominate the industry or sector it is charged with regulating. Regulatory capture is a form of government failure, as it can act as...
.
Economist David D. Friedman
David D. Friedman
David Director Friedman is an American economist, author, and Right-libertarian theorist. He is known as a leader in anarcho-capitalist political theory, which is the subject of his most popular book, The Machinery of Freedom...
argues that the ICC always served the railroads as a cartelizing agent and used its authority over other forms of transportation to prevent them, where possible, from undercutting the railroads.
Abolition
Congress passed various deregulationDeregulation
Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
measures in the 1970s and 1980s which diminished ICC authority, including the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act
Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act
The Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976, often called the "4R Act," is a United States federal law that established the basic outlines of regulatory reform in the railroad industry and provided transitional operating funds following the 1970 bankruptcy of Penn Central...
of 1976. the Motor Carrier Act of 1980
Motor Carrier Act of 1980
The Motor Carrier Regulatory Reform and Modernization Act, more commonly known as the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 is a United States federal law which deregulated the trucking industry.-Background:...
and the Staggers Rail Act
Staggers Rail Act
The Staggers Rail Act of 1980 is a United States federal law that deregulated the American railroad industry to a significant extent, and replaced the regulatory structure that existed since the 1887 Interstate Commerce Act.-Background:...
of 1980. Senator Fred R. Harris
Fred R. Harris
Fred Roy Harris is a former Democratic United States Senator from the state of Oklahoma. He served from 1964 until 1973.-Biography:...
of Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
was a strong supporter of abolishing the Commission. In 1995, when most of the ICC's powers had been eliminated, Congress finally abolished the agency with the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act
Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act
The Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act is a United States federal law enacted in 1995 that abolished the Interstate Commerce Commission and simultaneously created its successor agency, the Surface Transportation Board.-External links:...
. Final Chair Gail McDonald
Gail McDonald
Gail Clements McDonald is an American administrator who served as Chair of Interstate Commerce Commission from 1993 until the Commission's disbandment by Congress in 1995.-Life and career:...
oversaw transferring its remaining functions to the Surface Transportation Board
Surface Transportation Board
The Surface Transportation Board of the United States is a bipartisan, decisionally-independent adjudicatory body organizationally housed within the U.S. Department of Transportation. The STB was established in 1996 to assume some of the regulatory functions that had been administered by the...
.
Prior to its abolition, the ICC issued identification numbers to Motor Carriers (bus lines, shipping companies, etc.) which it issued licenses. These identification numbers were generally in the form of ICC MC-000000. When the ICC was dissolved, the function of licensing interstate Motor Carriers was transferred to the Department of Transportation, so now all motor carriers which have federal licenses have a different "DOT number" such as DOT 000000.
Legacy
The ICC served as a model for later regulatory efforts. Unlike, for example, state medical boards (historically administered by the doctors themselves), the seven Interstate Commerce Commissioners and their staffs were full-time regulators who could have no economic ties to the industries they regulated. Post-1887 state and federal agencies adopted this structure. And, like the ICC, later agencies tended to be multi-headed independent commissions with staggered terms for the commissioners. At the federal level, agencies patterned after the ICC included the Federal Trade CommissionFederal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
(1914), the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(1934), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (1934), the National Labor Relations Board
National Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Board is an independent agency of the United States government charged with conducting elections for labor union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of...
(1935), the Civil Aeronautics Board (1940), Postal Regulatory Commission (1970) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission
Consumer Product Safety Commission
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission is an independent agency of the United States government created in 1972 through the Consumer Product Safety Act to protect "against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products." The CPSC is an independent agency that does...
(1975). In recent decades, this regulatory structure of independent Federal agencies has gone out of fashion; the agencies created after the 1970s generally have single heads appointed by the President and are divisions inside executive Cabinet Departments (e.g., the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. It was created by Congress of the United States under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, signed by President Richard M. Nixon, on December 29, 1970...
(1970) or the Transportation Security Administration
Transportation Security Administration
The Transportation Security Administration is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that exercises authority over the safety and security of the traveling public in the United States....
(2002)). The trend is the same at the state level, though it is probably less pronounced.
International influence
The Interstate Commerce Commission had a strong influence on the founders of Australia. The Constitution of AustraliaConstitution of Australia
The Constitution of Australia is the supreme law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates. It consists of several documents. The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia...
provides (§§ 101-104; also § 73) for the establishment of an Inter-State Commission
Inter-State Commission
The Inter-State Commission, or Interstate Commission, is a defunct constitutional body under Australian law. The envisaged chief functions of the Inter-State Commission were to administer and adjudicate matters relating to interstate trade...
, modeled after the United States' Interstate Commerce Commission. However, these provisions have largely not been put into practice; the Commission existed between 1913–1920, and 1975–1989, but never assumed the role which Australia's founders had intended for it.
See also
- Civil Aeronautics Board, a comparable body regulating American air travel
- Airline deregulation in the United States, an overview of the CAB's rise and fall
- History of rail transport in the United StatesHistory of rail transport in the United StatesRailroads have played a large role in the development of the United States of America, from the industrial revolution in the North-east to the colonization of the West. The American railway mania began with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1828 and flourished until the Panic of 1873 bankrupted...
- United States administrative lawUnited States administrative lawUnited States administrative law encompasses a number of statutes and cases which define the extent of the powers and responsibilities held by administrative agencies of the United States Government. The executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the U.S. federal government cannot always...
External links
- Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). "People & Events: Interstate Commerce Commission." (Notes for the television program The American Experience: Streamliners.)