http://www.oyez.org/cases/1851-1900/1851/ U.S. Supreme Court Decisions, presented by The Oyez Project (www.oyez.org) en-us <p>Does the law violate the Commerce Clause of the Constitution?</p><p>According to Justice Curtis, who wrote the majority opinion, the pilotage law did not violate the Constitution. Congress had provided in 1789 that state pilotage laws should govern. Navigation was commerce; and, piloting was navigation. Though the subject to be regulated was commerce, the interesting twist here was whether the Commerce Power was exlusive. Some subjects demand a single uniform rule for the whole nation, while others, like pilotage, demand diverse local rules to cope with varying local conditions. The power of Congress was therefore selectively exclusive.</p> http://www.oyez.org/cases/1851-1900/1851/1851_0/