Judicial Branch

Nix v. Hedden Court Case

In 1883, the President signed a tariff declaring a tax on all imported vegetables (but not fruits). John Nix & Co. was a trading company that imported fruits and vegetables to New York. They were taxed for their tomatoes. Nix took Edward Hedden, who collected the 10% tax on imported vegetables, to court , in 1889. The Lower Court of New York declared that tomatoes were a fruit, so, in 1893, Nix appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court's purpose is to determine whether or not a law, passed by Congress, and signed by the President, is constitutional. The judges are appointed by the President, and approved by Congress. Congress came up, and President Chester signed off on the tariff that Nix was fighting against.

Nix claimed that tomatoes were a fruit, and, therefore, should not be taxed. He used the dictionary definition of 'fruit' and 'vegetable' to prove his point. Two witnesses were brought in to say whether the term 'fruit' or 'vegetable' was used differently in more common conversations, or if the words 'fruit' and 'vegetable' were used exactly as they were in the dictionaries.

According to the Supreme Court case file, the first witness said: "Well, it does not classify all things there, but they are correct as far as they go. It does not take all kinds of fruit or vegetables; it takes a portion of them. I think the words 'fruit' and 'vegetable' have the same meaning in trade today that they had on March 1, 1883. I understand that the term 'fruit' is applied in trade only to such plants or parts of plants as contain the seeds. There are more vegetables than those in the enumeration given in Webster's Dictionary under the term 'vegetable,' as 'cabbage, cauliflower, turnips, potatoes, peas, beans, and the like,' probably covered by the words 'and the like.'"

The Supreme Court case file

The Supreme Court eventually decided that, in the case of commerce and taxes, tomatoes were a vegetable, and would, therefore, be taxed as one. Justice Horace Gray, the justice at the time, wrote: “Botanically speaking, tomatoes are the fruit of a vine, just as are cucumbers, squashes, beans, and peas, but in the common language of the people, whether sellers or consumers of provisions, all these are vegetables.” It was decided, therefore, that, in cases of law, the tomato is a vegetable. This means that if vegetables are taxed, I have to pay a tax on tomatoes because they are legally a vegetable.