SAT History
Supreme Court Case Review
Inventions to 1865
Marshall Court
• Marbury v. Madison (1803), established
judicial review
• Fletcher v. Peck (1810), upholds contract
laws
• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), states can
not tax the federal government (the Bank
of the U.S.) – “the power to tax is the
power to destroy” – also confirmed that the
Bank was constitutional
Marshall Court 2
• Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819)—
colonial charters are protected by the U.S.
Constitution, contracts must be upheld
• Johnson v. McIntosh (1823) – established
that Indian tribes had rights to land that
preceded all other law—only the Federal
Government could take land from the
tribes.
• Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) – clarified that
commerce is any business activity and
that Congress controls it
Marshall Court 3
• Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) –
domestic dependent nation, established a
“trust relationship” with the tribes being
under Federal authority, not the states
• Worcester v. Georgia (1832) – tribal
autonomy within boundaries, distinct
political communities
Taney Court
• Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge (1837)—interests
of community are more important than interests of
business—society is more important than private
• Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842) – said that labor
organizations (unions) were legal and that they were
allowed to strike
• Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842)—states did not have to
enforce the return of fugitive slaves
• Scott v. Sanford (1857) (Dred Scott case)—ruled that
Dread Scott was not a citizen (since he was a slave in
Missouri who had moved with his owner to Illinois, a nonslave state) and therefore could not sue, even though he
had lived in a free state and a free territory, Congress
can’t prohibit slavery in a territory, voided Missouri
Compromise of 1820
1860’s-1880’s
• Ex Parte Milligan (1866)– a civilian can not
be tried in military courts while a civil court
is available
• Civil Rights Cases of 1883 (one decision
on several similar cases)—legalized
segregation with regard to private property
• Wabash, St. Louis, and Pacific Railway Co.
v. Illinois (1886)—Declared state-passed
Granger laws that dealt with interstate
commerce unconstitutional
1890’s
• Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad
Co. v. Minnesota (1890) found that
Granger law regulations were violations of
the 5th Amendment Property rights
(Granger laws tried to regulate grain
elevator and railroad freight rates to stop
discriminating against farmers)
• Pollock v. The Farmers’ Loan and Trust Co.
(1895)—the Wilson-Gorman Tariff had an
income tax—this was found
unconstitutional
1890’s part 2
• U.S. vs. E.C. Knight Co. (1895)—very
narrow interpretation of Sherman AntiTrust Act severely weakened the federal
government’s rights to act against
monopolies
• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): Legalized
segregation in public facilities on the basis
of “Separate but Equal”
• Williams v. Mississippi (1898) – allowed
literacy tests for voting
1900’s
• “Insular Cases”/Downes v. Bidwell (1901)—
allowed the federal government to place tariffs
on goods entering the US from US Territories
“The Constitution does not follow the flag.”
• Northern Securities Co. v. US (1904) – reestablished the right of the Federal Government
to fight monopolies under Sherman Antitrust
• Lochner v. New York (1905) – declared
unconstitutional a New York act limiting the
working hours of bakers (denial of 14th
Amendment rights)
• Muller v. Oregon (1908) – recognized a 10 hour
work day for women laundry workers on the
grounds of health and community interests
1910’s
• Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918) – Declared the
Keating-Owen Act (which tried to outlaw child
labor by prohibiting the sale in interstate
commerce of goods made by children)
unconstitutional since it was an invasion of state
authority
• Schenck v. US (1919) – Unanimously upheld the
Espionage Act of 1917 (which put people who
interfered with the war into prison)—declared
that the 1st amendment freedom was speech
was not absolute if its exercise presented a
“clear and present danger”
1920’s-1930’s
• Adkins v. Children’s Hospital (1923) – declared
unconstitutional a minimum wage for women
since it denied women freedom of contract
• Schechter v. US (1936—”the sick chicken
case”)—declared the National Industrial
Recovery Act (NIRA) unconstitutional for 3
reasons: it delegated legislative power to the
executive, there was no constitutional authority
for this legislation, and it sought to regulate
intrastate business (one of a number of cases
where the Court outlawed New Deal laws)
1940’s-1950’s
• Korematsu v. US (1944): upheld the
constitutionality of detention camps for
Japanese citizens during World War II
• Ex parte Endo (1944) – forbade
internment of Japanese-Americans born in
the US
• Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka,
Kansas – unanimous decision which made
“separate but equal” unconstitutional
1960’s
• Engel v. Vitale (1962) – ruled that required
prayer in school was unconstitutional
• Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) – ruled that you
must have the right to get a lawyer for a trial
regardless of if you can afford one
• Escobedo v. Illinois (1964) – must be allowed
access to a lawyer before police questioning
• Miranda v. Arizona (1966) – you must be told of
your rights (attorney, silence) before questioning
can begin
1970’s
• Roe v. Wade (1973) – legalized abortion (based
on 4th amendment rights of a person to be
secure in their persons)
• US vs. Richard Nixon (1974)—rejected Nixon’s
claim to unqualified privilege against any judicial
process
• Bakke v. Regents of the University of California
(1978)—very weak, affirmative action positive
case..allowed affirmative action but barred
quotas based on race
Modern Cases
• Webster v. Reproductive Health Services
(Missouri) (1989)—upheld Missouri law that
prohibited public employees from performing
abortions unless the mother would die otherwise
• Clinton v. Jones (1997) – rejected the idea that a
sitting president had immunity for a nonpresidential duty offense
• Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000) – the Boy
Scouts could fire a troop leader due to he was
gay, overturned a New Jersey anti-discrimination
statute since the freedom of association was
more important
• Bush v. Gore (2000) – a party-line vote stopping
manual recalls and giving Bush the presidency
Major American Inventions
• Sextant (used for sailing) Thomas Godfrey,
PA, 1731
• Franklin stove (yes, it’s him!) Benjamin
Franklin, 1742
• Mail order business, Franklin, 1744
• Lightning rod, Franklin, 1749
• Glass harmonica, Franklin, 1761
Pre-Civil War Inventions
•
•
•
•
Flatboat, Jacob Yoder, 1782
Bifocals, Benjamin Franklin, 1784
Automatic flour mill, Oliver Evans, 1784
Diffraction Grating for Optics, David
Rittenhouse, 1785
• Ocean Current Mapping, Benjamin
Franklin, 1786
• Cracker, John Pearson, 1792
Pre-Civil War 2
• Cotton Gin, Eli Whitney, 1794
• Wheel Cypher (codebreaking), Thomas
Jefferson, 1795
• Rumford Fireplace, Benjamin Rumford, 1796
• Burr Truss (mix of an arch and a truss for
bridges)—Theodore Burr (cousin of Aaron Burr,
1804)
• Refrigeration, 1805, Oliver Evans, modified with
first patent by Jacob Perkins, 1835, for home
Fred Wolf, 1913
Pre-Civil War 3
• Circular Saw, 1813, Tabitha Babbitt
• Profile lathe, 1818, Thomas Blanchard
• Milling machine (shaping metal) Simeon
North, 1818
• Detachable Collar, 1827, Hannah Lord
Montague
• Platform Scale, Thaddeus Fairbanks, 1830
• Electric telegraph, 1831, Thomas Henry
(also see Morse Code, 1832)
Pre-Civil War 4
• National Park, 1832
• Steam Shovel, 1835, William Otis (also
elevator, 1857)
• Wrench, 1835, Solymon Merrick
• Revolver, 1836, Samuel Colt
• Combine Harvester, 1838, Hiram Mooer
Pre-Civil War 5
• Sleeping car (train), 1839, first made by
George Pullman, 1857
• Grain elevator, Joseph Dart, 1842
• Rotary Printing Press, 1843, Richard Hoe
• Vulcanized rubber, 1844, Charles
Goodyear
• Baseball, 1845, Alexander Cartright
• Printing telegraph, 1846, Royal Earl House