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Created within the 3rd Article of the United States Constitution, the Supreme Court has a number of cases each year they are asked to decide. All of the cases usually contain important questions regarding the Constitution or law.
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Wrote the Jay's Treaty which was signed between the United States and Great Britain. Established the border between Canada and the US.
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John Marshall became chief justice in 1801 after John Jay. He recognized that the Court was one of the three equal branches of government and that the Court could act as a major policy shaper for the nation. His agenda included expanding the power of the Court, helping the nation expand its capitalism, and imposing national supremacy over the states. Some of his cases were: Marbury v. Madison, Fletcher v. Peck, McCulloch v. Maryland, and Gibbons v. Ogden.
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Madison was sued by Marbury for not delivering his commission. Because of this trial, judicial review was established. This gave the courts power to determine whether acts of the government were unconstitutional.
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Dispute between John Peck and Robert Fletcher over the validity of a contract regarding the sale of a plot of land in Georgia. This case allowed the Supreme Court to now invalidate state laws that conflict with the Constitution.
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The New Hampshire legislator tried to change the private college into a public institution. The old trustees of the college claimed it unconstitutional, and with the use of judicial review, once again established the supremacy of the Constitution over state laws.
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Addressed whether or not Congress had the power to create a national bank. Maryland charged the Baltimore branch of the Bank of the United States a tax, and they refused to pay. The federal government stepped in and revealed its supremacy over the states regarding the intrastate business.
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Ogden purchased exclusive rights to operate a ferry between New York and New Jersey. Gibbons, with a federal trade license, set up a competing line, and Ogden sued him. Marshall declared that only Congress could regulate interstate commerce. This allowed growth of business regulated by the national government.
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The Cherokees challenged Georgia in the courts. The Cherokees did not want to be viewed as a foreign nation and wanted to be able to sue in the federal court.
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The Court ruled that the laws of Georgia had no power within the Cherokee nation. Andrew Jackson sided with the state laws instead of the federal courts.
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Resulted in "peaceful unions" to have the right to negotiate labor contracts with employers. Organized labor was introduced because of low pay, long hours, and unsafe working conditions. Improvements for workers still was limited by periodic depressions, employers that were hostile to unions, and an abundant supply of cheap labor from immigrants.
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Dred Scott has been held as a slave but was re-located to a free state. He then was forced back into slavery, but sued the Court for his freedom. Majority of the court decided against him because they believed he has no right to sue a federal court because of his race, congress did not have the power to deprive anyone of power, and that the law would be unconstitutional. Southerners liked the decision, Northerners did not.
