Hammer v. Dagenhart 1918
Could Congress bar goods made with child labor from interstate commerce?
247 U.S. 251 (1918)Federal and state powerOverruled in 1941
- The question
- Could Congress bar goods made with child labor from interstate commerce?
- What the Court held
- No. Manufacturing was not commerce, and the law reached into matters reserved to the states.
- The vote
- 5–4
- Later overruled by
- United States v. Darby (1941), 23 years later.
- Read the opinion
- 247 U.S. 251 (1918), full text
This page summarizes the Court’s judgment in neutral terms. The opinion, concurrences and dissents are the authority; read them for the reasoning.