Landmark Supreme Court Cases & Famous Trials in American History

1. KEY SUPREME COURT CASES & FAMOUS TRIALS A P U S H 17 of EM

2. 1. The Marshall Court, 1801 - 1835 • John Marshall believed that the USA would be best served by concentrating power in a strong central/national government. • Under Chief Justice John Marshall, Supreme Court decisions tended to promote business enterprise. • Under John Marshall’s leadership, the Supreme Court upheld the supremacy of FEDERAL Legislation over STATE legislation.

3. 2. Marbury v. Madison, 1803 • The case established the principle of JUDICIAL REVIEW. • Judicial Review gave the Supreme Court the authority to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional. • Marbury v. Madison was one of a series of landmark decisions by Chief Justice John Marshall that strengthened the FEDERAL government.

4. 3. Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 1819 • The Supreme Court ruled that the constitution protected contracts from state encroachments. • The ruling safeguarded business enterprise from interference by state governments. John Marshall was a judicial nationalist who opposed states' rights.

5. 4. Worcester v. Georgia, 1831 • The Supreme Court upheld the rights of the Cherokee tribe. • President Jackson REFUSED to recognize the Court’s decision. He said, “ John Marshall has made a decision: now let him enforce it.” • Because of Jackson’s refusal to enforce the Supreme Court decision, the case was followed by the removal of the Cherokees from Georgia…led to the Trail of Tears

6. The Cherokee of Georgia were forced off their land because • they refused to assimilate to the “American” way of life • gold was discovered in their territory and Georgians demanded that the Indian Removal Act be enforced • the Supreme Court refused to hear their cases • the Seminole tribe, their traditional enemy conquered their territory • Georgia refused to obey President Jackson’s request that they allow the Cherokee to keep their land

7. 5. Dred Scott v. Sanford, 1857 • African Americans were not CITIZENS & therefore could not petition the Court. • Slaves could not be taken from their masters, regardless of a territory’s “free”or“slave” status. • The judge ruled that national legislation could not limit the spread of slavery in the territories. • The 14th Amendment invalidated the decision. (citizenship is granted) they were property

8. 6. The 1873 Slaughterhouse Cases & 1883 Civil Rights Cases • Both cases narrowed the meaning and effectiveness of the 14th Amendment. • Both cases weakened the protection given to African Americans under the 14th Amendment.

9. 7. Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896 • The case involved a dispute over the legality of segregated railroad cars in Louisiana. • it upheld segregation by approving “separate but equal ” accommodations for African Americans. • It sanctioned “separate but equal ” public facilities for African Americans….and in effect all minorities.

10. 8. Late 19th & early 20th Century Cases • Supreme Court decisions strengthened the position of BIG BUSINESS

11. 9. Sacco and Vanzetti Trial, 1920s • The trial illustrated the widespread fear of RADICALS and recent IMMIGRANTS. Several eyewitnesses claimed that the robbers looked Italian. A large number of Italian immigrants were questioned but eventually the authorities decided to charge Bartolomeo Vanzetti and Nicola Sacco with the murders. Although the two men did not have criminal records, it was argued that they had committed the robbery & murder to acquire funds for their anarchist political campaign. Many observers believed that their conviction resulted from prejudice against them as Italian immigrants and because they held radical political beliefs. (NATIVISM) The case resulted in anti-US demonstrations in several European countries and at one of these in Paris, a bomb exploded killing twenty people.

12. 10. The John T. Scopes Trial, 1925 • The immediate issue was the legality of a Tennessee law prohibiting the teaching of the theory of EVOLUTION in the state’s public schools. • John T. Scopes was a Tennessee high school biology teacher, indicted for teaching evolution. • The John T. Scopes trial illustrates the cultural conflict in the 1920’s btwn Fundamentalism and Modernism. Evolution v. the BIBLE

13. 11. Korematsu v. United States, 1944 • In early 1942, Japanese Americans living on the West Coast of the USA were forced from their homes into detention camps (basically prisons) on the grounds that they were a potential threat to the security of the United States(after the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan on December 7, 1941). • The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the relocation as a WARTIME necessity. Constitutional scholars of TODAY view the relocation as a flagrant violation of our Constitution/Civil liberties.

14. Which of the following is true about the internment of those Japanese living in the United States during World War II? • The majority of those confined were native-born Americans. • Many of those relocated were known dissidents. • Only 2,000 Japanese Americans were relocated. • Congress passed a law requiring the relocation of all aliens during the war. • Those who were relocated eventually recovered their homes and possessions.

15. More than 110, 000 Japanese Americans were relocated during WWII. Most lost their homes and possessions, to the tune of an estimated $40 million. The relocation was mandated by presidential order; Congress was compliant in that it never acted to stop it, but that was the extent of congressional participation. There were not 100,000 Japanese American dissidents in the USA before the war, nor even half that many, making answer choice (B) incorrect. A question about this shameful episode in U.S. History appears in almost everyAP U.S. History exam.

16. In the Korematsu v. United States decision, the Supreme Count ruled that • Japanese Americans are not entitled to protection under government-sponsored Affirmative Action programs • the wartime relocation of West Coast Japanese Americans was not unconstitutional • the Japanese government had no legitimate claim to reparations for the bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki • immigration quotas based on race were unconstitutional • the U.S. government has violated the Constitution by entering the Korean War

17. Fred Korematsu was among the more that 110,000 Japanese Americans ordered to relocate from the West Coast to internment camps during WW II. Korematsu refused, was arrested and took his case all the way to the Supreme Court. The Court ruled that the government had not exceeded its power, noting that extraordinary times sometimes call for extraordinary measures;three of the nine justices dissented (disagreed). History has not judged Roosevelt’s internment policy kindly. In 1998 Fred Korematsu was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor.

18. 12. The Warren Court, 1953 - 1969 • During a period of intense judicial activism, the Court used its power to promote social programs. • The Warren Court reached notable and controversial decisions that established rights for those accused of crimes (Miranda Warning, etc.).

19. All of the following Supreme Court decision during JOHN MARSHALL’S tenure as Supreme Court Justice to strengthen the federal government except The Dred Scott case actually limited the power of the federal government by stating that Congress had no authority to determine where slaverycould and could not go. Furthermore, this was not a Marshall decision. • Gibbons V. Odgen, 1824 • Marbury v. Madison, 1803 • Dred Scott v. Sanford, 1857 • Worcester v. Georgia, 1831 • McCulloch v. Maryland,1819 HINT 1. The Marshall Court, 1801 - 1835

20. 13. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 1954 • The ruling reversed the principle of “separate but equal” established inPlessy v. Ferguson. • It declared racially segregated public school inherently unequal. • it declared that public school segregation is a denial of equal protection of the law under the 14th Amendment.” • This was the most important decision in the decade following WW II. It had widespread consequence for the right of minority groups.

21. 14. Baker v. Carr, 1962 • The case established the principle of “one man, one vote.” • the Supreme Court required the reapportionment of districts for state legislatures. Baker v. Carr, (1962), was a landmarkUnited States Supreme Court case that retreated from the Court's political question doctrine, deciding that redistricting (attempts to change the way voting districts are delineated) issues present justifiable questions, thus enabling federal courts to intervene in and to decide reapportionment cases. The defendants unsuccessfully argued that reapportionment of legislative districts is a "political question", and hence not a question that may be resolved by federal courts.

22. 15. Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965 • The Supreme Court struck down a state law prohibiting the use of contraceptives. • The Court proclaimed a ‘right to privacy ’ that soon provided the basis for decisions protecting women’s abortion rights.

23. 16. Miranda v. Arizona, 1966 • Controversial Warren Court decision establishing a defendant’s “Miranda Rights.” • The Court ruled that no confession could be admissibleunlessa suspect had been made aware of his or her rights and the suspect had waived them.

24. 17. Roe v. Wade, 1973 • The U.S. Supreme Court upheld abortion rights for women. • The Court based its decision, in part, on the right to privacy established in GRISWOLD v. CONNECTICUT. In disallowing many state and federal restrictions on abortion in the United States,34Roe v. Wade prompted a national debate that continues today, about issues including whether and to what extent abortion should be legal, who should decide the legality of abortion, what methods the Supreme Court should use in constitutional adjudication, and what the role should be of religious and moral views in the political sphere. Roe v. Wade reshaped national politics, dividing much of the United States into pro-choice and pro-life camps, while activating grassroots movements on both sides. In disallowing many state and federal restrictions on abortion in the United States, Roe v. Wade prompted a national debate that continues today, about issues including whether and to what extent abortion should be legal, who should decide the legality of abortion, what methods the Supreme Court should use in constitutional adjudication, and what the role should be of religious and moral views in the political sphere. Roe v. Wade reshaped national politics, dividing much of the United States into pro-choice and pro-life camps, while activating grassroots movements on both sides.

25. TEST TAKING TIP The Dred Scott Case, Plessy v. Ferguson, and Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka form a triumvirate of KEY CIVIL RIGHTS cases. You can expect to see one or two of these cases on every APUSH exam in May. Be sure to study the key points about each case along with the others. All 3 will be in my EXAM

26. Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 1819 1873 Slaughterhouse Cases & 1883 Civil Rights Cases Dred Scott v. Sanford, 1857 The John T. Scopes Trial, 1925 Sacco and Vanzetti Trial, 1920s Plessey v. Ferguson, 1896 Korematsu v. United States, 1944 The Marshall Court Baker v. Carr, 1962 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Roe v. Wade, 1973 Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965 Miranda v. Arizona, 1966 Marbury v. Madison Worcester v. Georgia, 1831