APUSH Important Supreme Court Cases

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Supreme Court judges decide whether laws are constitutional, and states cannot follow unconstitutional laws

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

The Bank of the United States is constitutional, and states cannot tax federal entities

Cohens v. Virginia (1821)

Supreme Court can evaluate state laws

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

States cannot pass laws dealing with interstate commerce, only Congress can do that

Fletcher v. Peck (1810)

Contracts are upheld above all else

Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819)

Charters are like contracts

Worcestor v. Georgia (1832)

Natives cannot be forced out of their lands

Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)

Enslaved people cannot buy their freedom

Munn v. Illinois (1876)

Private businesses can be regulated in public interest

Wabash v. Illinois (1886)

Laws banning long and short haul clauses are invalid

US v. EC Knight (1895)

Sherman Anti-Trust Act only related to trade between states

Hall v. DeCuir (1878)

Segregation on river boats is allowed

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Separate but equal facilities are allowed

Shenck v. US (1919)

In times of war, conscription is authorized

Hirabayashi v. US (1943)

First unsuccessful attempt to gain reparations for internment camps

Korematsu v. US (1944)

Second unsuccessful attempt to gain reparations for internment camps

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

All schools are to be desegregated

Loving v. Virginia (1967)

Marriages cannot be prohibited based on race

Mendez v. Westminster (1947)

Children of Hispanic descent cannot be segregated

Hernandez v. Texas (1954)

14th Amendment protections refer to all ethnic groups

Frontiero v. Richardson (1973)

Cannot discriminate based on gender in the military

US v. Windsor (2013)

Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional