Interstate Commerce Act

Audience

The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 was written in an attempt to regulate and control the growing power and what seemed to be the corruption and unfair practices of the railroad industry. While the provisions of the act were directed mainly at the railroad carriers whose tracks crossed state lines in the transport of people and goods (that is, freight), it was also written as a means of protecting the customers of those railway lines. The act provided regulations and provisions that were required of all interstate commerce carriers, including the prohibition of unjust discrimination, rebates, pooling, and higher rate charges for short hauls on a long-haul line. It also, however, provided a mechanism, through the creation of the Interstate Commerce Commission, to enforce the act. In addition, the establishment of the commission became a medium for addressing complaints of abuses and infringements of the act. The commission also became the vehicle for investigating the railroads. It was through the Interstate Commerce Act that federal regulation of industry began.