Pawling and Others v. The United States was a Supreme Court case that dealt with the issue of whether or not Congress had the power to pass laws concerning navigation on navigable waters within state boundaries. Pawling and others, who were merchants in New York City, argued that such legislation violated their rights as citizens under Article I Section 8 of the Constitution which gave Congress exclusive authority over interstate commerce. The Supreme Court disagreed, ruling that although states have concurrent jurisdiction over navigable waters within their borders, they do not possess exclusive control; therefore Congress has the right to regulate navigation on these waterways for purposes related to national defense or other matters affecting interstate commerce. This decision established an important precedent regarding federalism and congressional powers in relation to state sovereignty.

In Pawling and Others v. The United States, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a federal law that imposed duties on imported goods violated the Constitution. In a 5-4 decision, the majority held that Congress had acted within its constitutional authority in passing this law. However, Justice Samuel Chase dissented from this opinion and argued that Congress did not have such power under Article I of the Constitution because it would be an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power to executive officers who were charged with collecting these taxes. He further argued that if Congress could pass laws imposing taxes without any limitation or restriction then they could also grant monopolies which would violate other parts of the Constitution as well as principles of natural justice and equity. Finally, he noted that even though some states may have similar laws regarding taxation on imports, those laws are subject to state constitutions whereas federal legislation is subject only to national constitutional restrictions so there must be more limitations placed upon them than what exists for state governments when it comes to taxing imports.