Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge
| Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Argued January 19, 1837 Decided February 14, 1837 |
|
| Full case name | The Proprietors of Charles River Bridge, Plaintiffs in Error v. The Proprietors of Warren Bridge, and others |
| Citations | 36 U.S. 420 (more)
36 U.S. 420
|
| Prior history | None |
| Subsequent history | None |
| Holding | |
| That the Massachusetts state legislature's decision to grant a charter to the proprietors of Warren Bridge after granting a similar charter to the Charles River Bridge Company did not constitute a violation of the Contract Clause. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Taney |
| Concurrence | McLean, joined by Barbour, Baldwin, Wayne |
| Dissent | Story, joined by Thompson |
| Laws applied | |
| Article One of the United States Constitution | |
Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, 36 U.S. 420 (1837), was a case regarding the Charles River Bridge and the Warren Bridge of Boston, Massachusetts, heard by the United States Supreme Court under the leadership of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney.
In 1785, the Charles River Bridge Company had been granted a charter to construct a bridge over the Charles River connecting Boston and Charlestown. When the Commonwealth of Massachusetts sanctioned another company to build the Warren Bridge, chartered 1828, that would be very close in proximity to the first bridge and would connect the same two cities, the proprietors of the Charles River Bridge claimed that the Massachusetts legislature had broken its contract with the Charles River Bridge Company, and thus the contract clause had been violated. The owners of the first bridge claimed that the charter had implied exclusive rights to the Charles River Bridge Company. The Court ultimately sided with Warren Bridge. This decision was received with mixed opinions, and had some impact on the remainder of Taney's tenure as Chief Justice.
The controversy over the Charles River Bridge dated as far back as October 15, 1640 when the Massachusetts legislature, in accordance with common law, assumed control over public ferries. The legislature proceeded to give Harvard College the power to run a ferry on the Charles River between Boston and Charlestown. Harvard continued to operate the ferry, and collect its profits until 1785. That year, a group of men petitioned the state legislature to build a bridge across the river due to the inconvenience of the ferry. As time had passed, the two towns had grown and communication between them had become more important, and technology was at a point now where a bridge appeared to be a wise economic undertaking.
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