Controversies over the Role of Government in the Gilded Age

AP US History· difficulty 4/5

"All charges made for any service rendered or to be rendered in the transportation of passengers or property... shall be reasonable and just; and every unjust and unreasonable charge for such service is prohibited and declared to be unlawful." — Interstate Commerce Act, 1887

Which evidence best supports the claim that early ICC enforcement was weak?

  • A

    Federal courts repeatedly narrowed the commission's rate-setting authority

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  • B

    The ICC quickly nationalized the major trunk lines

  • C

    Farmers' real shipping costs fell sharply between 1887 and 1893

  • D

    Railroads voluntarily eliminated rebates after 1887

Explanation

Cases such as Maximum Freight Rate (1897) and Alabama Midland (1897) gutted the ICC's powers until the Hepburn Act of 1906 restored them.

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