Pensacola Telegraph Co. v. Western Union Telegraph Co.
Supreme Court of the United States
Appeal from the Circuit Court of the United States for the Northern District of Florida. In 1859, an association of persons, known as the Pensacola Telegraph Company, erected a line of electric telegraph upon the right of way of the Alabama and Florida railroad, from Pensacola, in Florida, to Pollard, in Alabama, about six miles north of the Florida line.
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Appeal from the Circuit Court of the United States for the Northern District of Florida. In 1859, an association of persons, known as the Pensacola Telegraph Company, erected a line of electric telegraph upon the right of way of the Alabama and Florida railroad, from Pensacola, in Florida, to Pollard, in Alabama, about six miles north of the Florida line. The company operated the whole line until 1862, when, upon the evacuation of Pensacola by the Confederate forces, the wire was taken down for twenty-three miles, and Cooper’s Station made the southern' terminus. In 1864, the whole was…
1Opinion of the CourtChief Justice Waite
Congress has power “ to regulate commerce with foreign nations and amongthe several States ” (Const. art. 1, sect. 8, par. 8); and “ to establish post-offices and post-roads ” (id., par. 7). The Constitution of the United States and the laws made in pursuance thereof are the supreme law ocf the land. Art. 6, par. 2. *9A law of Congress made in pursuance of the Constitution suspends or overrides all State statutes with which it is in conflict.
Since the case of Gibbons v. Ogden (9 Wheat. 1), it has never been doubted that commercial intercourse is an element of commerce which comes within the…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Gibbons v. OgdenSupreme Court of the United States · 1824
- Paul v. VirginiaSupreme Court of the United States · 1869
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