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Creation of the Supreme Court
In the Judiciary Act of 1789, Congress spelled out the details of the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary. Courts were created in principal cities with one judge each. -
John Jay
The first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was New York native John Jay. Appointed by George Washington. -
John Marshall
John Marshall, a Revolutionary War veteran, is one of the most famous Chief Justices. Marshall was appointed to the Supreme Court under President John Adams -
Marbury v. Madison
The doctrine of judicial review and the Supreme Court’s power as interpreter of the Constitution was established in the case of Marbury vs. Madison. "Checks and Balances" -
Fletcher vs. Peck
In 1795, the state of Georgia divided a 35-million-acre region of land into four tracts and sold each to different development companies. Fletcher sued Peck saying he had no right to sell the land. -
McCulloch v. Maryland
In 1816, Congress passed an act establishing the Second Bank of the United States, and in 1817 a branch opened in Baltimore, Maryland. -
Gibbons v. Ogden
This case established that the power to regulate interstate commerce was granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. -
Dred-Scott v. Sanford
In March of 1857, the United States Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, declared that all blacks -- slaves as well as free -- were not and could never become citizens of the United States. The court also declared the 1820 Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, thus permiting slavery in all of the country's territories. The case before the court was that of Dred Scott v. Sanford.
