Definition of Commerce

Intercourse by way of trade and traffic between different peoples or. states and the citizens or inhabitants thereof, including not only the purchase, sale, and exchange of commodities, but also the instrumentalities and agencies by which it is promoted and the means and appliances by which it is carried on, and the transportation of persons as well as of goods, both by land and by sea. Brennan v. Titusville, 153 U. S. 289, 14 Sup. Ct 829, 38 L. Ed. 719; Rallroad Co. v. Fuller, 17 Wall. 568, 21 I Ed. 710; Winder v. Caldwell, 14 How. 444, 14 Li. Ed. 487; Cooley v. Board of Warden 12 How. 299, 13 L. Ed. 996; Trade-Mark Cases, 100 U. S. 96, 25 L. Ed. 550; Gibbons v. Ogden, 9 Wheat. 1, 6 L. Ed. 23; Brown v. Maryland, 12 Wheat 448, 6 In Ed. 678; Bowman v. Railroad, 125 U. S. 465, 8 Sup. Ct. 689, 31 I Ed. 700; Leisy v. Hardin, 135 U. S. 100, 10 Sup. Ct 681, 34 In Ed. 128; Mobile County v. Kimball, 102 U. S. 691, 26 L. Ed. 238; Corfield v. Coryell, 6 Fed. Cas. 546; Fuller v. Railroad Co., 31 Iowa, 207 ; Passenger Cases, 7 How. 401, 12 L. Ed. 702; Robbins v. Shelby County Taxing Dist., 130 U. S. 489, 7 Sup. Ct. 592, 30 L. Ed. 694; Arnold v. Yanders, 56 Ohio St. 417, 47 N. E. 50, 60 Am. St. Rep. 753; Fry v. State, 63 Ind. 562, 30 Am. Rep. 238; Webb v. Dunn, 18 Fla. 724; Gilman v. Philadelphia, 5 WalL 724, 18 L. Ed. 96. Commerce is a term of the largest import. It comprehends intercourse for the purposes of trade in any and ali its forms, including the transportation, purchase, sale, and exchange of commodities between the citizens of our country and the citizens or subjects of other countries, and between the citizens of different states. The power to regulate it embraces nil the instruments by which such commerce may be conducted. Welton v. Missouri, 91 U. S. 275, 23 L. Eld. 347. Commerce is not limited to an exchange of commodities only, but includes, as well, intercourse with foreign nations and between the states; and includes the transportation of passengers. Steamboat Co. v. Livingston, 3 Cow. (N. Y.) 713 ; People v. Raymond, 34 Cal. 492. The words "commerce" and "trade" are synonymous, but not identical. They are often used interchangeably; but, strictly speaking, commerce relates to intercourse or dealings with foreign nations, states, or political communities, while trade denotes business intercourse or mutual traffic within the limits of a state or nation, or the buying, selling, and exchanging of articles between members of the same community. See Hooker v. Vandewater, 4 Denio (N; Y.) 353, 47 Am. Dec. 258; Jacob; Wharton.
—Commerce with foreign nations. Commerce between citizens of the United States and citizens or subjects of foreign governments; commerce which, either immediately or at some stage of its progress, is extraterritorial. U. S. v. Holliday, 3 Wall. 409, 18 In Ed. 182 ; Veazie v. Moor, 14 How. 573, 14 L. EM. 545; Lord v. Steamship Co... 102 U. S. 544, 26 L. Ed. 224. The same as "foreign commerce," which see infra.
—Commerce with Indian tribes. Commerce with individuals belonging to such tribes, in the nature of buying, selling, and exchanging commodities, without reference to the locality where carried on, though it be within the limits of a state. U. S. v. Holliday, 3 Wall. 407, 18 L. Ed. 182 j U. S. v. Cisna, 25 Fed. Cas. 424.
—Domestic commerce. Commerce carried on wholly within the limits of the United States, as distinguished from foreign commerce. Also, commerce carried on within the limits of a single state, as distinguished from interstate commerce. Louisville 6 N. R Co. v. Tennessee R. R. Com'n (C. Ct) 19 Fed. 701.
—Foreign commerce. Commerce or trade between the United States and foreign countries. Co.m. v. Housatonic R. Co., 148 Mass. 264, 9 N. B. 547; Foster v. New Orleans, 94 U. S. 246, 24 L. Ed. 122. The term is sometimes applied to commerce between ports of two sister states not lying on the same coast, e. p., New York and San Francisco.
—Internal commerce. Such as is carried on between individuals within the same state, or between different parts of the same state. Lehigh Val. R. Co., v. Pennsylvania, 145 U. S. 192, 12 Sup. Ct. 806, 36 L. Ed. 672; Steamboat Co., v. Livingston, 3 Cow. (N. Y.) 713. Now more commonly called "intrastate" commerce.
—International commerce. Commerce between states or nations entirely foreign to each other. Louisville & N. R. Co. v. Tennessee R. It, Com'n (C. Ct) 19 Fed. 701.
—Interstate commerce. Such as is carried on between different states of the Union or between points lying in different states. See Interstate Commerce
— Intrastate commerce. Such as is begun, carried on, and completed wholly within the limits of a single state. Contrasted with "interstate commerce," (g. v.)