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Constitutional Law-Congressional Powers-Validity Of The 1953 Submerged Lands Act, William D. Keeler

Michigan Law Review

In 1947 and 1950 the Supreme Court held that the coastal states had no property interest in the submerged lands lying seaward from the low water mark, whether ownership of this land was held by the state prior to admission into the Union or not, and that the federal government had paramount rights in and power over this land, including the resources of the soil beneath it. In 1953 Congress passed, and the President signed, the Submerged Lands Act, which vested in the coastal states title to and proprietary power over this land. Alabama and Rhode Island petitioned the Court …