What was Wickard v. Filburn in 1942?

Wickard v. Filburn was a Supreme Court case that had to do with
the extent of Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce. In this case, the Court granted
Congress extensive powers in this regard.

The law in question was
the New Deal program known as AAA. Under this law, the government specified how much of certain
crops farmers could produce. Filburn produced more wheat than he was supposed to and sued when he
was fined. He said that the wheat was for consumption on his own farm and therefore had nothing
to do with interstate commerce. The Court ruled unanimously that the wheat did affect interstate
commerce even if it never actually entered the stream of interstate commerce. This was because
any excess wheat produced by Filburn and others like him reduced overall demand for wheat in
interstate commerce.

Overall, then, this is a case about how much
Congress can intervene in the economy using its power to regulate interstate
commerce.