In the Jurisdiction and Removal Act of 1875, Congress granted the federal courts the full range of jurisdiction set out in Article III of the Constitution. Under the Act, the circuit courts would have the power to hear all cases arising under the Constitution and the laws of the United States, as well as all cases between citizens of different states, if the amount in dispute was more than $500. The Act also provided that if a case meeting these criteria was filed in a state court, either the plaintiff or the defendant could remove the case from state court to federal court. The expansion of federal jurisdiction was aimed primarily at protecting interstate business interests that were often treated unfavorably in state courts. As a result of the change, caseloads in the federal courts grew considerably.
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