apush court cases

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

• Marbury sued James Madison for not delivering his commission

• John Marshall knew the executive branch (made of Jefferson’s supporters) wouldn’t satisfy Marbury’s request so he dismissed the case and ruled that part of the 1789 Judiciary Act to be unconstitutional

Fletcher v. Peck (1810)

Georgia legislature granted 35 million acres to private speculators but the next legislature voided the transaction, asserting that the first legislature's grant was a valid contract protected by the Constitution

Dartmouth College v. Woodward (February 1819)

• college had been granted a charter by King George lll 50 years prior + New Hampshire legislature wanted to change it

• Supreme Court ruled that state legislature couldn’t interfere with contracts between private parties

Mcculloch v. Maryland (March 1819)

• Maryland tried to destroy a branch of the US bank by putting a tax on its banknotes

• Marshall ruled that the bank was constitutional, invoking the Hamilton doctrine of implied powers

• denied Maryland the right to tax the bank

Cohens v. Virginia (1821)

• Cohen brothers accused of illegally selling lottery tickets + Virginia won, proving them guilty

• proved that Supreme Court had the power to review states’ criminal trials

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

• New York wanted a monopoly on interstate water commerce between NY/New Jersey

• Marshall ruled that the Constitution had control over interstate issues + NY couldn’t make its own judgement

Worcester v. Georgia (1832)

• Georgia legislature declared the Cherokee council illegal + asserted its control over the area

• Cherokee appealed + the Supreme Court supported but Jackson refused to acknowledge

United States v. The Amistad (1841)

• Amistad was a Spanish ship seized by slaves who tried to sail back to Africa but were moored on Long Island

• John Quincy Adams advocated for the slaves to be freed and won, safely sending them back to Sierra Leone

Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842)

• Supreme Court of Massachusetts argued that labor unions weren’t evil conspiracies, as assumed by their employers

• unions often succeeded when they advocated for more rights/freedoms

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

• an enslaved man who had lived with his master for five years in Wisconsin/Illinois territory sued him on the basis that he had technically been living on free soil

• decided that since Dred Scott was a slave and not a citizen, he was not able to sue in a federal court

• Chief Justice Roger B. Taney said that the black man was so far inferior that the outcome of the case shouldn’t even have been contested

• Supreme Court ruled that African Americans could not be American citizens and Congress lacked power to regulate slavery in the territories

Civil Rights Cases (1883)

five cases in which it was ruled that the implementation of the 13th & 14th Amendments did not outlaw racial discrimination

Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad Company v. Illinois (1886)

ruled that states had no power to regulate interstate commerce

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

• Louisiana’s Separate Car Act (1890) required all state railroads to have separate cars for white and black passengers

• protestors who wanted to repeal the act asked Plessy to sit in the white car since he was technically ⅞ caucasian and was arrested when he refused to leave

• Plessy’s lawyers argued that the act violated the 13th/14th amendments but the judge ruled that the state was able to enforce the laws within its boundaries

• separate but equal

U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark (1898)

ruled that the 14th amendent granted citizenship to all people born in the US

Insular Cases (1901)

• asked whether the territories/people would be governed and given the same privileges as the states

• Supreme Court upheld that the governing terms outlined in the Constitution didn’t apply to territories the US claimed

Northern Securities Co. v. US (1904)

Supreme Court ruled against NSC, affirming the government's authority to regulate monopolies under the Sherman Antitrust Act

Lochner v. New York (1905)

Supreme Court ruled that a New York law setting maximum working hours for bakers was unconstitutional

Muller v. Oregon (1908)

allowed states to pass protective legislation regulating working conditions for women/children

Schenck v. United States (1919)

ruled that freedom of speech/press could be limited if they created a “clear and present danger” to national security or public safety

Adkins v. Children’s Hospital (1923)

Supreme Court ruled that a minimum wage law for women and children in DC was unconstitutional, overturning previous laws that had established wage protections

Scopes Monkey Trial (1925)

• teacher was tried for violating Tennessee's Butler Act by teaching evolution in a public school, highlighting the conflict between science and religious beliefs

• he was convicted but the verdict was later overturned on a technicality

Korematsu v. U.S. (1944)

Supreme Court upheld that exclusion of certain citizens during times of war is justified to reduce espionage risks

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

ruled that US state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools were unconstitutional

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution protected womens’ rights to have an abortion (overturned)