Key Constitutional Cases and Principles

Flashcards matching landmark Supreme Court cases to their key constitutional principles.

Fletcher v. Peck

Contract Clause limits state power

Dartmouth College v. Woodward

Private corporate charters are protected contracts

Prigg v. Pennsylvania

Federal fugitive-slave law overrides conflicting state law

Luther v. Borden

Political question doctrine

Barron v. Baltimore

Bill of Rights originally applied only to the federal government

Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge

No implied corporate monopoly

Cooley v. Board of Wardens

Some commerce regulation can be local; other matters require national uniformity

Worcester v. Georgia

States cannot override federal authority over Native American affairs

Dred Scott v. Sandford

Denied Black citizenship and congressional power to ban slavery in the territories

Constitutional provision

What it means

Article I, Section 10, Clause 1 — Contract Clause

States cannot impair contractual obligations

Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 — Commerce Clause

Congress regulates interstate commerce

Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3 — Fugitive Slave Clause (original text)

Addressed the return of people escaping slavery

Fifth Amendment

Includes protection against taking private property without just compensation

Tenth Amendment / federalism principles

Powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved to the states or the people, subject to the Constitution