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Shay's Rebellion
In 1786, a group of farmers under the lead of Daniel Shays, to protest the constitution of Massachusetts and the seizure of farms. The group marched on Springfield with the intent of seizing a federal armory, but they were turned away by General Benjamin Lincoln. This even shook the middle and upper classes and a rebellion was close. The Rebellion was a motivating event that led to the Constitutional Convention. -
Whisky Rebellion
The new United States government put a tax on whisky, The tax fell on grain farmers in Pennsylvania. Which is what their lives depended on with distilling whisky. This led to riots and a death of a federal officer. President George Washington required the governors of bordering states to organize their militia. When negotiations failed, the militia was sent, and the rebellion was stopped. Several people were arrested. This was the first real test of the power of the new federal government. -
McCulloch v Maryland
The constitutionality of a national bank was called into question and a reading of the Constitution, barely 30 years old would say that Congress has no such power. Chief Justice Marshall again left his mark on the history of the Constitution by ruling that under the Proper Clause the national bank was constitutional. He noted that any law that was within the scope of the Constitution was constitutional. This case also helped start the Supreme Court to strike down a state law as unconstitutional. -
The Confederacy
In response to many events, but especially the election of Abraham Lincoln, South Carolina started the rolling for the Confederate States. On December 20, 1860 South Carolina voted to secede from the United States. February, 1861 a convention of the states was held to propose a constitution & elect a provisional president. The result was the Civil War, which financially decimated the South. Though it may have seemed pointless in 1869 the Supreme Court declared that secession was unconstitutional -
Plessy v Ferguson
In the 1890's, Louisiana law provided separate rail cars for whites and non-whites. Fines and imprisonment were provided for when a person sat in the wrong car. Plessy, a mixed-race man, was required to sit in the non-white car; when he refused, he was ejected from the car and arrested. Plessy appealed his conviction on the basis that he was not a colored person, but also on the allegation that the act was unconstitutional under the 13th and 14th Amendments. The Court disagreed. -
Lochner v New York
The Lochner case pitted a conservative Supreme Court against a liberal New York legislature. A New York law was made that restricted bakers to no more than 10 hours per day and no more than 60 hours per week. Joseph Lochner was convicted of violating the new law, and appealed his conviction up to the Supreme Court. The Court ruled that these are items of contract between the employer and employee. The decision was hailed by business interests and panned by labor interests. -
Brown v Board
In the early 1950's blacks, were free as free as any white. But in many regions of the country, governmental services made blacks sorely unequal to whites. Schools set aside for blacks were of poorer quality than those for white. When Brown's father attempted to enroll her in the white school, she was turned away. The first court ruled against Brown. Finally, in 1954, the Court declared that "separate but equal" was not proper: "Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." -
The 2000 Election
The results of the election of 2000 will have complications on the United States for at least four years, and maybe more. The day after the election, calls were already ringing out for the abolition of the Electoral College, along with as many calls defending it. This could indicate a sea change to how we elect our President, or it could amount to nothing at all. If nothing else, the election of 2000 renewed the prominence of the Constitution in the minds of the average citizen.