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Creation of the Supreme Court
Description: The Supreme Court's main job is to interpret the Constitution.
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Jay Treaty
Description: This was a a treaty between the US and G Britain to regulate commerce and navigation. It also corrected problems that arose from the Treaty of Paris (1793)
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Marbury vs. Madison
The case began on March 2, 1801, when an obscure Federalist, William Marbury, was designated as a justice of the peace in the District of Columbia. Marbury and several others were appointed to government posts created by Congress in the last days of John Adams's presidency, but these last-minute appointments were never fully finalized. The disgruntled appointees invoked an act of Congress and sued for their jobs in the Supreme Court. -
Fletcher vs. Peck
John Peck acquired land in 1800 that was originally part of a land grant in 1795. But, in 1796, legislature voided this law. Peck then sold the land in 1803 that he had acquired to Robert Fletcher, claiming that past sales of the land had been legitimate. Fletcher argued that since the original sale of the land had been declared invalid, Peck had no legal right to sell the land and thus committed a breach of contract. -
Dartmouth College v. Woodward
In 1816, the New Hampshire legislature attempted to change Dartmouth College--a privately funded institution--into a state university. The legislature changed the school's corporate charter by transferring the control of trustee appointments to the governor. In an attempt to regain authority over the resources of Dartmouth College, the old trustees filed suit against William H. Woodward, who sided with the new appointees. -
McCollough v. Maryland
In 1816, Congress chartered The Second Bank of the United States. In 1818, the state of Maryland passed legislation to impose taxes on the bank. James W. McCulloch, the cashier of the Baltimore branch of the bank, refused to pay the tax. -
Gibbons v. Ogden
A New York state law gave two individuals the exclusive right to operate steamboats on waters within state jurisdiction. Laws like this one were duplicated elsewhere which led to friction as some states would require foreign (out-of-state) boats to pay substantial fees for navigation privileges. In this case a steamboat owner who did business between New York and New Jersey challenged the monopoly that New York had granted, which forced him to obtain a special operating permit from the state to -
Worcester v. Georgia
a case in which the United States Supreme Court vacated the conviction of Samuel Worcester, holding that the Georgia criminal statute, prohibiting non-Indians from being present on Indian lands without a license from the state, was unconstitutional.