Gibbons v. Ogden’s Empirical Analysis
22 U.S. 1 · 1824
Citation profile
644 federal appellate · 286 district · 660 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 3,151 later decisions (477 by the Supreme Court) — most recently June 2026 · most notably Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife (1992), Graham v. John Deere Company of Kansas City Calmar Inc (1966)
644 federal appellate · 286 district · 660 state decisions — followed in 50 states
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on M'Culloch v. State of Maryland · Sturges v. Crowninshield · Houston v. Moore · United States v. Bevans
Cited together with Wickard v. Filburn · Hines v. Davidowitz · Florida Lime & Avocado Growers, Inc. v. Paul · United States v. Darby · Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 3,151 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“Commerce, undoubtedly, is traffic, but it is something more: it is intercourse. It describes the commercial intercourse between nations, and parts of nations, in all its branches, and is regulated by prescribing rules for carrying on that intercourse.”
64 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.”
61 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“is complete in itself, may be exercised to its utmost extent, and acknowledges no limitations, other than are prescribed in the constitution.”
49 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.