On February 24, 1803, Chief Justice John Marshall read a decision in a case about a job. William Marbury had been named a justice of the peace in John Adams's final days, but his commission was never delivered, and the new Secretary of State, James Madison, would not hand it over. Marshall agreed Marbury had a right to it, then said the Court could not help him, because the law letting him sue directly in the Supreme Court was unconstitutional. Marbury never got his job, and the Court claimed the power of judicial review. This deck follows the Court from that day to Dred Scott in 1857.
The Marshall Court builds national power
Marshall led the Court from 1801 to 1835. In Marbury v. Madison (1803) the Court struck down a federal law for the first time. In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) it upheld the Second Bank of the United States: the necessary and proper clause gave Congress implied powers, and Maryland could not tax the bank, because "the power to tax involves the power to destroy." In Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) it struck down New York's steamboat monopoly where it clashed with a federal license, reading Congress's commerce power broadly. Together these cases put federal law above conflicting state law, the theme the course stresses for this era.
Contracts and a growing market
The Marshall Court also protected property. Fletcher v. Peck (1810) said Georgia could not cancel land sales after the Yazoo scandal, and Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819) said New Hampshire could not rewrite a private college's charter. Both rested on the Constitution's contract clause, and both made investors more confident.
Roger Taney, Chief Justice from 1836, shifted the balance. In Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge (1837) a bridge company's charter gave it no unstated monopoly, so Massachusetts could charter a competing bridge. The public interest, and new transportation, came first.
The Cherokee cases
Georgia passed laws to take over Cherokee land. In Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) the Court called the Cherokee a "domestic dependent nation" and said it could not hear their suit. In Worcester v. Georgia (1832) it ruled that Georgia's laws had no force in the Cherokee Nation. The ruling changed little on the ground: Jackson backed Georgia, a minority of Cherokee leaders signed the Treaty of New Echota (1835), and the forced removal of 1838–39 became the Trail of Tears.
Slavery before the Court
In United States v. The Amistad (1841) the Court freed Africans who had seized a Spanish schooner, because they had been illegally enslaved. In Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842) it overturned a slave catcher's conviction under a Pennsylvania law and ruled fugitive slave cases federal. Several Northern states then barred their officials from helping slave catchers.
In Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), Taney's 7–2 majority ruled that Black Americans could not be citizens and that Congress could not ban slavery in the territories. Instead of settling the slavery question, the decision angered Republicans and widened the split before the Civil War. The 14th Amendment (1868) reversed its ruling on citizenship.
How historians read the cases
Historians often call Marbury a shrewd move: Marshall claimed a large power while handing Jefferson's side the immediate win. Judicial review was not new as an idea; Hamilton defended it in Federalist No. 78. Historians also debate how far the Taney Court broke with Marshall, since it still upheld contracts in many cases.
Common mistakes students make
- Saying Marbury got his job. He didn't; the Court ruled it lacked the power to order it.
- Mixing up the Cherokee cases. Cherokee Nation (1831) was dismissed; Worcester (1832) ruled for the Cherokee.
- Treating Jackson's famous line as fact. It is widely doubted. What is clear is that removal went ahead.
- Calling Commonwealth v. Hunt a Supreme Court case. It came from Massachusetts's highest court.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most important Supreme Court cases for APUSH before the Civil War?
Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland, Gibbons v. Ogden, Worcester v. Georgia and Dred Scott v. Sandford come up most, with Dartmouth College and Charles River Bridge for economic questions.
What did Marbury v. Madison establish?
It established the Supreme Court's power to strike down a federal law that conflicts with the Constitution, known as judicial review.
Why was the Dred Scott decision so important?
It said Congress could not ban slavery in the territories, which undercut the Republican Party's platform and deepened the sectional crisis.
What is the difference between the Marshall Court and the Taney Court?
The Marshall Court mostly strengthened federal power and contracts; the Taney Court gave more room to states and competition, and decided Dred Scott.
Try it
Say each answer before you flip the card. Then sort the cases into two groups, federal power versus states, and explain one that doesn't fit neatly. What changed, and why then?
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