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Creation of the Supreme Court – Article 3 of the Constitution of the United States
The Supreme Court's effort to establish the law of the land was kept secrect at first. The Supreme Court is made up of 9 supreme judges of the land. -
John Jay
John Jay was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, nominated by George Washington. He was comissioned on September 26, 1789, and was then sworn into office on October 19, 1789. He resinged from the job on June 29, 1795. -
John Marshall
John Marshall became the second Chief Justice of the Supreme Court afer John Jay had resigned. Marshall served 34 years on the bench, and during this time there were many famous cases that were considered, such as Fletcher v. Peck, Dartmouth College v. Woodward, Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee, and McCulloch v. Maryland. -
Marbury v. Madison
When John Adams was preparing the leave office, he appointed many 'midnight judges'. This angered James Madison, who refused to deliver a commission to William Murbary. Murbary then sued for the delivery of his commission. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court. Many of the judges were still Federalists so it was the Court's unanimous opinion that Murbary deserved his commisson. -
Fletcher v. Peck
This case was between John Peck and Robert Fletcher regaurding the validity of a contract regaurding the sale of a plot of land in Georgia. The court declared sancity of contracts and secured the basis of capitalism in private enterprise. This rule went to show that the Supreme Court had the power to invalidate state laws. -
Dartmouth College v. Woodward
When the state of New Hampshire tried to alter Dartmouth College's charter, the New Hampshire court ruled that Darmouth College must be changed from a private to a public school. Darmouth appealed the case to the Supreme court, who ruled that the original charter must stand because it was a contract. -
McCollough v. Maryland
This case dealt with the division of power between the federal government and the states. The state of Maryland placed an annual tax on the Bank of the United States and other 'forgein' banks. The Maryland branch of the Bank of the United States refused to pay and Maryland brought suit against the chief bank employee. Marshall upheld the constitutionality of the Bank of the United States. -
Gibbons v. Ogden
Also known as the "steamboat case", this case involved the regulation of interstate commerce. In 1815 Aaron Ogden purchased rights to operate a ferry between New York and New Jersey. When Thomas Gibbons, who held a federal trade license, set up a competing line, Ogden sued him. Marshall decided in Gibbons favor, destroying Fulton's and Livingston's monoply, and showed New York that Congress has the power to control interstate commerce. -
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia
During the time of the Indian Removal Act, the Cherokee's were very upset and refused to move from their homeland. The Cherokee turned to the court for defense in 1831, but the court ruled that they were not a foreign state in the sense of the constitution, but rather they were a dornestic, dependent nation, and could not sue the United States over Georgia voiding their right to self-rule. -
Worcester v. Georgia
In 1832, the court decided the revise their ruling and ruled that the state of Georgia did not have the right to control the Cherokee in the territory. This case revolved around two important missionaries, Samuel Austin Worcester and Elizur Butler -
Commonwealth v. Hunt
American legal case in which the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that the common-law doctrine of criminal conspiracy did not apply to labour unions. Until this time workers had made attempts to establish closed shops, had been subject to prosecution. Shaw however, said that trade unions were legal, and they had the right to protest. In the end, Shaw legalized the American labour union movement by his decision. -
Dred Scott v. Sanford
In 1857, Dred Scott sued after being taken from Missouri to a free state, and then back to Missouri. Scott claimed that his residence in a free territory granted him freedom. The Supreme Court ruled the congress did not have the power to prohibit slavery in the territories. The court then when on to state that blacks were not citizens and could not become citizens and therefore could not sue in court.
