APUSH Midterm Important Court Cases

Important U.S. Supreme Court Cases

1. Marbury v. Madison (1803)
   Established the principle of judicial review, giving courts the power to declare laws unconstitutional.

2. Fletcher v. Peck (1810)
   Ruled that a state law could not invalidate a legal contract, reinforcing the sanctity of contracts and limiting state powers under the Contract Clause.

3. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
   Confirmed the supremacy of federal laws over state laws and upheld the constitutionality of the Second Bank of the United States, interpreting the Necessary and Proper Clause broadly.

4. Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819)
   Protected private corporations from state government interference by upholding the Contract Clause.

5. Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
   Strengthened federal authority over interstate commerce by invalidating a state-granted monopoly.

6. Worcester v. Georgia (1832)
   Declared that Native American nations were sovereign entities and that state laws had no authority on their lands, though enforcement was lacking.

7. Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1832)
   Held that Native American tribes were "domestic dependent nations," limiting their ability to bring cases to the Supreme Court.

8. Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842)
   Struck down Pennsylvania’s personal liberty law, asserting federal supremacy in fugitive slave laws under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793.

9. Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)
   Infamously ruled that African Americans were not citizens and that Congress could not prohibit slavery in the territories, exacerbating sectional tensions.

10. Ex parte Milligan (1866)
    Held that civilians could not be tried by military tribunals when civilian courts were operational, even during wartime.

State Supreme Court Cases

11. North Carolina v. Mann (1830)
    Established the absolute authority of slaveholders over enslaved people, ruling that owners could not be prosecuted for violent punishment.

12. Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842)
    A Massachusetts case that legalized labor unions, ruling that strikes and organized labor were not inherently illegal conspiracies.