Interstate Commerce Act of 1887

Interstate Commerce Act of 1887

Long title	An act to regulate commerce
Enacted by	the 49th United States Congress
Effective	April 7, 1887
Citations
Public law	Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 49–104
Statutes at Large	24 Stat. 379
Legislative history
Passed the U.S. House on February 4, 1887  Passed the U.S. Senate on February 4, 1887
Major amendments
Elkins Act Hepburn Act Mann–Elkins Act Valuation Act Motor Carrier Act of 1935 Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act Staggers Rail Act Motor Carrier Act of 1980

Act of February 4, 1887 (Interstate Commerce Act)

This article is part of a series about Grover Cleveland
Early life Birthplace Legacy SS Cleveland 1920 SS Cleveland 1947 28th Governor of New York Election Governorship 22nd & 24th President of the United States Presidencies Executive actions Foreign policy First term First inauguration Tenure of Office Act Wedding Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 Interstate Commerce Commission Dawes Act Enabling Act of 1889 Judicial appointments Cabinet Second term Second inauguration Panic of 1893 Blount Report Morgan Report Coxey's Army Pullman Strike Wilson–Gorman Tariff Act Venezuelan crisis Judicial appointments Cabinet Presidential campaigns 1884 convention election 1888 convention election 1892 convention election Post-presidency Retirement Death
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The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 is a United States federal law that was designed to regulate the railroad industry, particularly its monopolistic practices.^[1] 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 the official Eastern states.^[2][3] 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.^[4] It was later amended to regulate other modes of transportation and commerce.