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19-461: The first Atlanta Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1859, and was chiefly concerned with fighting railroad rate discrimination and with sustaining commercial ties with the North . After secession , it focused its attention on direct trade with Europe, which was part of an overall Southern goal of achieving economic independence from the North. In 1866 the chamber was reformed into a Board of Trade. When

38-448: A result of too little competition. Railroads also banded together to form pools and trusts that fixed rates at higher levels than they could otherwise command. Responding to a widespread public outcry, states passed numerous pieces of legislation. Through the 1870s various constituencies, notably the Grange movement representing farmers, lobbied Congress to regulate railroads. While

57-542: 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. It also required that railroads publicize shipping rates and prohibited short haul or long haul fare discrimination, a form of price discrimination against smaller markets, particularly farmers in Western or Southern Territory compared to

76-1003: The Constitution , which gives Congress the exclusive power "to regulate Commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes." With many of those questions of approach decided, Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act the following year; it was signed into law by President Grover Cleveland on February 4, 1887. The act worked to keep rates and railroad revenue up on routes where competition existed. It did this by attempting to force publicity about rates and make rebates and discrimination illegal. ('Discrimination' meant lower rates for certain customers, e.g. politicians, large customers, sharp bargainers, long haul shippers, shippers in competitive markets, low season travelers.) Railroads saw that competition made it hard to pay their stockholders and bondholders

95-642: The Wabash Case , was a Supreme Court decision that severely limited the rights of states to control or impede interstate commerce . It led to the creation of the Interstate Commerce Commission . The majority's opinion was written by Justice Samuel Miller ; joining him were associate justices Stephen Field , John Harlan , William Woods , Stanley Matthews , and Samuel Blatchford . Dissenting were Chief Justice Morrison Waite and associate justices Joseph Bradley and Horace Gray . The case

114-555: The 1970s and 1980s. The Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (often called the "4R Act") gave railroads more flexibility in pricing and service arrangements. The 4R Act also transferred some powers from the ICC to the newly formed United States Railway Association , a government corporation, regarding the disposition of bankrupt railroads. The Staggers Rail Act of 1980 further reduced ICC authority by allowing railroads to set rates more freely and become more competitive with

133-516: The ICC to organize a Bureau of Valuation that would assess the value of railroad property. This information would be used to set freight shipping rates. In 1935, Congress passed the Motor Carrier Act, which amended the Interstate Commerce Act to regulate bus lines and trucking as common carriers . Congress enacted simplifying and reorganizing amendments in 1978, 1983 and 1994. Congress passed various railroad deregulation measures in

152-512: The Senate would investigate and report its findings and recommendations in 1874, Congress declined to step in, mirroring the lack of consensus in approach. In the 1886 decision on Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway Company v. Illinois however, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state laws regulating interstate railroads were unconstitutional because they violated the Commerce Clause of

171-527: The act, its jurisdiction was limited to companies that operated across state lines. Over time the courts would further narrow the agency's authority, and in 1903 Congress established the Department of Commerce and Labor and its Bureau of Corporations to study and report on wider industries and their monopolistic practices. By 1906, the Supreme Court had ruled in favor of a railroad company in fifteen out of

190-526: The amount of money promised to them, and competition was therefore "bad." The act also created the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), the first independent regulatory agency of the US government. As part of its mission, the ICC heard complaints against the railroads and issued cease and desist orders to combat unfair practices. While the ICC was empowered to investigate and prosecute railroads and other transportation companies that were alleged to have violated

209-474: The business community to stage the successful 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition , a sort of world's fair. In 1899 the chamber began a Young Men's Business League. In 1903 it launched the Greater Georgia Association which promoted Atlanta and Georgia in western and northern business journals. The chamber also published numerous guides and picture books on Atlanta. In 1904 it pressured

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228-509: The city to establish an Atlanta Freight Bureau, which would suspend all concessions to the railroads until an agreement on freight rates was agreed to that was favorable to businesses. And in 1910 the Chamber successfully campaigned for a $ 3 million city bond which funded expansion of the water and sewer systems, Grady Hospital , and several new schools. Interstate Commerce Act of 1887#rate discrimination The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887

247-616: The economy started to recover after the Civil War , in 1871 the city's business community formed a new Chamber of Commerce which was meant to have a broader base and participation than the Board of Trade. Again, the main issue was the railroads. Jonathan Norcross addressed the members at its first meeting. Benjamin Crane , a wholesale grocer, was the chamber's new president. By 1890 the chamber had 600 members from 350 firms. In 1892 an auxiliary social club

266-487: The official Eastern states. The Act created a federal regulatory agency , the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), which it charged with monitoring railroads to ensure that they complied with the new regulations. With the passage of the Act, the railroad industry became the first industry subject to federal regulation by a regulatory body. It was later amended to regulate other modes of transportation and commerce. The act

285-633: The sixteen cases over which it presided. Congress passed a minor amendment to the Act in 1903, the Elkins Act . Major amendments were enacted in 1906 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. The Mann-Elkins Act of 1910 strengthened ICC authority over railroad rates and expanded its jurisdiction to include regulation of telephone, telegraph, and cable companies. The Valuation Act of 1913 required

304-536: The trucking industry. The Motor Carrier Act of 1980 deregulated the trucking industry. Congress abolished the ICC in 1995 ( see Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act ) and many of its remaining functions were transferred to a new agency, the Surface Transportation Board . Wabash, St. Louis %26 Pacific Railway Company v. Illinois Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway Company v. Illinois , 118 U.S. 557 (1886), also known as

323-519: Was argued on April 14, 1886 - April 15, 1886 and was decided on October 25, 1886, by vote of 6 to 3. Associate Justice Miller wrote for the Court with Associate Justices Field, Harlan, Woods, Matthews, and Blatchford concurring; Associate Justices Bradley and Gray, along with Chief Justice Waite, dissented. In Wabash , "direct" burdens on interstate commerce were not permitted by the Export Tax Clause of

342-423: Was passed in response to rising public concern with the growing power and wealth of corporations, particularly railroads, during the late nineteenth century. Railroads had become the principal form of transportation for both people and goods, and the prices they charged and the practices they adopted greatly influenced individuals and businesses. In some cases, the railroads were perceived to have abused their power as

361-413: Was started. The following year there was an economic panic, and the chamber was instrumental in encouraging banks to issue scrip in order to get more money into circulation, which allowed Atlanta merchants to sell the cotton crop. During the depression in the 1890s, the chamber took a position front and center as the spokesman for the welfare of the working man and for its business class and succeeded rallied

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