Former U.S. Senator Roscoe Conkling, who had twice refused Supreme Court appointments to pursue his lucrative Gilded Age law practice, argued before the Court in San Mateo County v. Southern Pacific Railroad that the Fourteenth Amendment’s framers intentionally used “person” rather …
Roscoe ConklingU.S. Supreme CourtSouthern Pacific RailroadSan Mateo CountyJoint Committee on Reconstructioncorporate-personhoodsupreme-courtfourteenth-amendmentlegal-corruptiongilded-age+2 more
In March 1877, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Munn v. Illinois (94 U.S. 113), affirming in a 7-2 decision that states possess constitutional authority to regulate private industries when such regulation serves the public good. Chief Justice Morrison Waite wrote for the majority that because grain …
U.S. Supreme CourtMorrison WaiteNational GrangeIllinois LegislatureMunn & Scottregulatory-frameworksupreme-courtgranger-movementdemocratic-resistancepublic-interest
The Supreme Court unanimously overturns the federal convictions of Colfax Massacre perpetrators in United States v. Cruikshank, ruling that the Bill of Rights does not limit private actors or state governments despite the Fourteenth Amendment—effectively destroying federal power to protect Black …
U.S. Supreme CourtJoseph P. BradleyColfax Massacre Perpetratorsjudicial-capturereconstruction-sabotagecivil-rights-destructionwhite-supremacyinstitutional-capture
The Supreme Court issues a 5-4 decision in the Slaughterhouse Cases, its first major interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment, drastically narrowing the Privileges or Immunities Clause to exclude most individual rights. The ruling upholds Louisiana’s grant of a slaughterhouse monopoly to one …
U.S. Supreme CourtLouisiana LegislatureCrescent City Livestock CompanyNew Orleans Butchersinstitutional-capturelegal-system-weaponizationcorporate-influencedemocratic-erosion
Chief Justice Roger B. Taney delivers the Supreme Court’s 7-2 decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, ruling that African Americans “are not and could not be citizens” of the United States and therefore have no standing to sue in federal court, and that Congress lacks authority to …
Roger B. TaneyJames BuchananJohn CatronRobert Cooper GrierU.S. Supreme Court+1 moredred-scottjudicial-corruptionslave-powersupreme-courtconstitutional-crisis+1 more
Fifty-three recently abducted Africans being transported aboard the Spanish schooner Amistad from Havana to Puerto Príncipe, Cuba revolt under the leadership of Joseph Cinqué, killing the captain and cook while sparing the Spanish navigator to sail them back to Sierra Leone. The Africans had been …
Joseph CinquéAmistad captivesJohn Quincy AdamsLewis TappanU.S. Supreme Courtslaveryinstitutional-corruptionresistancelegal-victoryinternational-law
The U.S. Supreme Court rules 5-1 in Worcester v. Georgia that states lack authority to impose regulations on Native American lands, with Chief Justice John Marshall writing that Indian nations are “distinct, independent political communities retaining their original natural rights” and …
John MarshallAndrew JacksonSamuel WorcesterCherokee NationGeorgia+1 morejudicial-nullificationexecutive-overreachindian-removalconstitutional-crisisrule-of-law+2 more
The U.S. Supreme Court decides McCulloch v. Maryland, with Chief Justice John Marshall authoring a landmark opinion establishing that Congress has implied powers under the Constitution’s “Necessary and Proper Clause” and that federal law is supreme over state law, preventing states …
Chief Justice John MarshallU.S. Supreme CourtSecond Bank of the United StatesState of MarylandJames W. McCullochjudicial-powerfederal-supremacyimplied-powersstate-sovereigntyinstitutional-protection
The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Fletcher v. Peck that Georgia’s attempt to rescind the fraudulent 1795 Yazoo land sale violates the Constitution’s contract clause, marking the first time the Court strikes down a state law. Chief Justice John Marshall writes that while the bribery of …
Chief Justice John MarshallU.S. Supreme CourtJohn PeckRobert FletcherGeorgia Legislaturejudicial-corruptioncontract-clauseelite-protectionland-speculationaccountability-evasion
The U.S. Supreme Court issues its landmark decision in Marbury v. Madison, with Chief Justice John Marshall declaring for the first time that federal courts possess the power to strike down laws passed by Congress that violate the Constitution. Marshall writes that “A Law repugnant to the …
Chief Justice John MarshallWilliam MarburySecretary of State James MadisonU.S. Supreme Courtjudicial-powerconstitutional-interpretationinstitutional-captureunelected-powerjudicial-supremacy