Contract Clause of the U.S. Constitution

E938878

constitutional clause legal doctrine

The Contract Clause of the U.S. Constitution is a provision in Article I, Section 10 that restricts states from passing laws that impair the obligation of existing contracts.

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All labels observed (5)

Label	Occurrences
Contract Clause of the United States Constitution	7
Contract Clause	1
Contract Clause of the U.S. Constitution canonical	1
Contracts Clause of the U.S. Constitution	1
The Kansas Natural Gas Price Protection Act did not violate the Contract Clause as applied to the contracts at issue.	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T11647642 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Contract Clause of the U.S. Constitution
Context triple: [Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, hasLegalIssue, Contract Clause of the U.S. Constitution]

A. Compact Clause of the United States Constitution
The Compact Clause of the United States Constitution is the provision that restricts states from entering into agreements or compacts with other states or foreign powers without the consent of Congress.
B. Interstate Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution
The Interstate Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution is a provision in Article I, Section 8 that grants Congress the power to regulate trade and commerce among the several states, forming a key basis for federal regulatory authority.
C. Guarantee Clause
The Guarantee Clause is a provision of the U.S. Constitution that obligates the federal government to ensure every state maintains a republican form of government and protection against invasion and domestic violence.
D. Article VI, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution
Article VI, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution is the provision that mandates all federal and state officials be bound by oath to support the Constitution while prohibiting any religious test as a qualification for public office.
E. Necessary and Proper Clause
The Necessary and Proper Clause is a provision in the U.S. Constitution that grants Congress the authority to enact laws needed to execute its enumerated powers, forming the basis for implied federal powers.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Contract Clause of the U.S. Constitution
Target entity description: The Contract Clause of the U.S. Constitution is a provision in Article I, Section 10 that restricts states from passing laws that impair the obligation of existing contracts.

A. Compact Clause of the United States Constitution
The Compact Clause of the United States Constitution is the provision that restricts states from entering into agreements or compacts with other states or foreign powers without the consent of Congress.
B. Interstate Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution
The Interstate Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution is a provision in Article I, Section 8 that grants Congress the power to regulate trade and commerce among the several states, forming a key basis for federal regulatory authority.
C. Guarantee Clause
The Guarantee Clause is a provision of the U.S. Constitution that obligates the federal government to ensure every state maintains a republican form of government and protection against invasion and domestic violence.
D. Article VI, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution
Article VI, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution is the provision that mandates all federal and state officials be bound by oath to support the Constitution while prohibiting any religious test as a qualification for public office.
E. Necessary and Proper Clause
The Necessary and Proper Clause is a provision in the U.S. Constitution that grants Congress the authority to enact laws needed to execute its enumerated powers, forming the basis for implied federal powers.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (47)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	constitutional clause ⓘ legal doctrine ⓘ
adoptedOn	1788 ⓘ
aimedAt	preventing state interference with private credit markets ⓘ promoting economic stability and confidence in contracts ⓘ
appliesTo	U.S. states ⓘ state legislation ⓘ
bindingOn	all U.S. states ⓘ
cameIntoForce	1789 ⓘ
category	U.S. constitutional law ⓘ U.S. economic and commercial law ⓘ
codifiedIn	Article I, Section 10, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution ⓘ linked to: Article I, Section 10 of the United States Constitution
doesNotApplyTo	federal government ⓘ purely private conduct without state action ⓘ
earlyLeadingCase	Dartmouth College v. Woodward ⓘ Fletcher v. Peck ⓘ Sturges v. Crowninshield ⓘ
governs	relationship between state regulatory power and private contracts ⓘ
hasJurisdiction	federal courts ⓘ linked to: federal judiciary of the United States state courts ⓘ
hasLanguageType	prohibitory clause ⓘ
hasText	No State shall ... pass any ... Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts ⓘ
historicalContext	drafted during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 ⓘ
historicalImportance	central to early Supreme Court protection of economic rights ⓘ
inspiredBy	concerns about debtor-relief laws under the Articles of Confederation ⓘ
interpretedBy	Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ
legalEffect	limits state police power over private contracts ⓘ protects the obligation of existing contracts ⓘ
locatedInDocument	United States Constitution ⓘ
majorCase	Allied Structural Steel Co. v. Spannaus ⓘ Energy Reserves Group, Inc. v. Kansas Power & Light Co. ⓘ Home Building & Loan Association v. Blaisdell ⓘ United States Trust Co. v. New Jersey ⓘ
modernInterpretation	allows reasonable and necessary state regulation of contracts for legitimate public purposes ⓘ
partOf	Article I of the United States Constitution ⓘ Article I, Section 10 of the United States Constitution ⓘ
prohibits	state laws impairing the obligation of contracts ⓘ state laws that retroactively interfere with existing contracts ⓘ
protects	vested contractual rights ⓘ
protectsAgainst	state alteration of contractual remedies in a way that substantially impairs obligations ⓘ state repudiation of their own contractual obligations ⓘ
relatedTo	Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment ⓘ linked to: Due Process Clause Impairment of contracts doctrine ⓘ Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment ⓘ linked to: Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
scope	applies to state laws with retroactive effect on contracts ⓘ covers both public and private contracts ⓘ
subjectTo	judicial balancing of state police power and contract rights ⓘ

How these facts were elicited