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Creation of the Supreme Court
It was created from the Judiciary Act of 1789. Congress stated the details of the job of the Supreme Court and Federal Judiciary. -
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John Jay
John Jay served as the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He was elected for a second term, but declined. -
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John Marshall
Appointed under John Adams, John Marshall is one of the most well known Chief Justices. He served for 34 years, the longest for any chief justice. -
Marbury vs. Madison Case
In this case, the Supreme Court's power as an interpreter of the Constitution, and the doctrine of judicial review was established. After this, the idea of checks and balances were introduced. -
Fletcher vs. Peck Case
In 1795, Georgia was divided into 4 parts and sold to developmental companies for bribes. Peck bought some of the land in 1795 and then sold it to Fletcher in 1803. Fletcher sued him because Peck had no right to sell the land because the transactions were voided because the sales were due to bribes. The Supreme Court ended up deciding it was unconstitutional for them to take the land away. -
Dartmouth College Vs. Woodword
Dartmouth college was created from a charter given from King George III in 1769. In 1816, (30 years after revolution) New Hampshire tried to change the way the school was set up. In court, they ended up being in favor of the school. So, the charter stayed as it was and could not be changed because of the revolution. -
McCulloch vs. Maryland Case
This case was about James McCulloch, head of the Baltimore Brach of the Second Bank, , refused to pay the tax that Maryland had imposed on all banks not charted by their legislature. Congress ended up deciding that Maryland's laws interfered with the powers Congress has. -
Gibbons vs. Ogden
Because of Gibbons vs. Ogden, Congress was granted the right to regulate interstate commerce. It is another early example of how Congress has more power than the laws of the states. -
Cherokee Nation Vs. Georgia
Georgia feared that the federal government would not act on their removal of the Cherokee people in Georgia. Therefore, Georgia took away many rights of the indians. They were mad, marched up to Washington, and tried to sue. However, since they were not a 'foreign nation', they were not able to do anything in the court system of the United States -
Worcester Vs. Georgia
Georgia passed a law saying that they were not able to take control of the lands owned by the Cherokee and people that lived there had to get a license. Some, like Worcester, refused. He argued that states didn't have authority to pass laws about Indian power or ownership. They lost the case. -
Commonwealth Vs. Hunt
Massachusettes ruled that conspiracy did not apply to labor unions. Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw asserted that the labor union had the right to strike and do other things to improve conditions for them. It ended up making trade unions legal in the US -
Dred Scott Vs. Sanford
Scott was a slave from MIssouri that lived in Illinois. But, when he went back to Missouri, he was considered a slave. He sued and said that because he lived in Illinois, he should be free. Unfortunately the Supreme Court ruled that he wasn't a citizen so he wasn't free.
