1823 decision impacts a post Civil War Constitutional Amendment
A Federal Case Involving New Jersey During the 1776 State Constitutional Era
What seemed to be a simple case pertaining to interstate land and water use by non-New Jersey residents lead to a Federal court decision that would later echo in the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution.
Corfield v. Coryell addresses two Clauses in the US Constitution:
- The Commerce Clause (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3)
- The Privileges and Immunities Clause (Article 4, Section 2)
Section 2 of Article 4 says:
“Sect. 2 The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States.”
Timeline of Events
Click below to view a brief summary of the exhibit in a timeline format.
A new country adopts a constitution
With the ratification of the Constitution of the United States, all white citizens within the states have a shared set of basic rights rights and privileges.
An Act for the preservation of clams and oysters
New Jersey’s legislature passes a law to protect the harvesting of some shellfish.
Caught in the Act
Two men from Delaware are caught raking for oysters in New Jersey waterways.
Justice Washington finds in favor of the State of New Jersey
Justice Bushrod Washington writes a decision that creates boundaries around the concept of ‘privileges and immunities.’
Judge Bushrod Washington dies
The 14th Amendment is ratified
In 1866 the US Congress passes the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. It then goes on to be ratified by the required number of states in 1868.
![Notice to state governors about 14th amendment - it reads [Circular.] Department of State, June 16, 1866, To his Excellency Governor of the State or Sir: I have the honor to transmit an attested copy of a resolution of Congress, proposing to the legislatures of the several States a fourteenth article to the Constitution of the United States. The decisions of the several legislatures upon the subject are required by law to be communicated to this Department. An acknowledgment of the receipt of this communication is requested by Your excellency's most obedient servant, William H. Seward.](https://www.njstatelib.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/14th-amendment-circular-for-governors.jpg)
Background
On June 9, 1820 New Jersey’s Legislature passed “An Act for the preservation of clams and oysters.”
The law prohibited clam and oyster harvesting between May 1st – September 1st. It also limited harvesting to NJ residents only:
In addition to a $10 fine, anyone caught breaking this law would have their boat and fishing equipment confiscated. If you were a fisherman and lost your fishing boat you might lose your ability to earn a living. The legislature meant business when they created that penalty.
The Events
The plaintiff (Corfield) lived in Delaware. He owned a boat that he lent to someone named John Keene. Keene and another man named Courtney went raking for clams and oysters in the Maurice River on May 15, 1821. The Maurice (pronounced Maw-ris) River is located in Cumberland County in southern New Jersey near the mouth of the Delaware Bay.
Unluckily for Keene and Courtney, they were spotted by some of the most powerful officials in Cumberland County, on another boat. Some of the witnesses included magistrates and the collector of the port from Cumberland County, New Jersey. A magistrate is a lower-level judge who knows general civil and criminal laws. The collector of the port is the person who monitors the coming and going of taxable goods from a port.
Keene and Courtney were caught red handed. Officials seized their boat (Corfield’s boat). Corfield wanted his boat back and didn’t want to pay a fine. So he challenged New Jersey’s law on several points. He claimed it was a violation of the Constitution of the United States. In particular, he challenged the provisions of section 6 of the New Jersey law as conflicting with Section 2 of Privileges and Immunities Clause of the US Constitution. That clause states “the citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states.” The logic of Corfield’s claim was that any US citizen had a right to fish the waters of New Jersey, not just the residents of the state.
The Decision
The events of this case occurred in New Jersey’s waters, but Corfield made the claim as a resident of another state (Delaware). As a result the case was heard in the U.S. Eastern District Court. That is a federal district court serving both New Jersey and Delaware. Coryell is the name of the state officer who defended the New Jersey law that Corfield challenged. The justice who heard the case was Bushrod Washington.
Side note – Bushrod Washington happened to be George Washington’s nephew and closest relative. After George and Martha Washington died, Bushrod Washington inherited the Mount Vernon estate and all of Washington’s personal papers. You can read more about Bushrod Washington on George Washington’s Mount Vernon website.
After hearing both sides, Justice Washington found in favor of the state of New Jersey (Coryell). Justice Washington determined that the privileges of all US citizens referred to in the US Constitution’s Privileges and Immunities Clause are the fundamental and universal rights that apply to all citizens of the country.
He then listed examples of the types of rights he was referring to:
“… which are, in their nature, fundamental; which belong, of right, to the citizens of all free governments.”
“…protection by the government; the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the right to acquire and possess property of every kind, and to pursue and obtain happiness and safety.”
We are guaranteed fundamental rights by the Constitution. Justice Washington concluded that harvesting fish, wildlife, and natural resources within any state in the U.S. is not a fundamental right.
Justice Washington found that the New Jersey Legislature had the right to limit the use of common property to its own citizens. His ruling led to a more complete understanding of what “privileges and immunities” means in relation to fundamental, universal rights of all residents within their state and within the United States. His ruling allowed states to create boundaries around the Privileges and Immunities Clause. The decision handed down by Justice Bushrod Washington is the first and most authoritative in the interpretation of that constitutional clause.
From Oysters to the 14th Amendment
Forty five years later, Justice Washington’s clear and well articulated interpretation of privileges and immunities helped to inform the basis for Section 1 of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution.
Article 14
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
The Legacy
Even while he prepared his opinion in Corfield vs Coryell, which gave shape and definition to the idea of fundamental and universal rights for all citizens of the United States, Justice Bushrod Washington was an active and avid slaveholder. When he and his wife moved to Mount Vernon following the death of his uncle and aunt (George and Martha Washington), they brought with them their enslaved workers. Paradoxically, a fundamental author of American freedom himself enslaved over a hundred people of African descent, breaking up and selling off families as it suited him to cover his debts and fund Mount Vernon.
Bushrod Washington died long before the 14th Amendment passed. Although he never knew it, the language he crafted in the Corfield opinion would later help establish a lasting definition of universal rights for all citizens of the United States.
What started as a simple case involving a non-New Jerseyan illegally taking oysters led to language defining one of the significant rights established through our U.S. Constitution.
Questions for Discussion:
- Do you agree state governments have the right to restrict access to their resources based on residency?
- Read the Privileges and Immunities Clause. Then read the 14th Amendment. What is different about these two parts of the Constitution?
- Why do you think it is important to highlight Bushrod Washington’s role as both an enslaver and the presiding judge in this case?
Share your thoughts with us on New Jersey history.
