Who served as Chief Justice in the Gibbons v Ogden decision?

• A. John Marshall
• B. Roger B. Taney
• C. Earl Warren
• D. Warren Burger

Answer: (A)

This question tests understanding of how the early Supreme Court defined federal power over interstate commerce. In Gibbons v. Ogden, the Court under Chief Justice John Marshall held that Congress has the authority to regulate interstate commerce, including navigation between states, through the Commerce Clause. Because federal law governs cross-border trade, it overrides state-granted privileges when activities involve more than one state—like New York’s monopoly for Ogden—thereby creating a single national economic framework. This ruling reinforced federal supremacy in economic matters and shaped how the Commerce Clause would be interpreted going forward. The other names were chief justices in later periods, not the one who wrote this decision.