Constitutional-Interpretation

First Major Court Battle Over National Guard Deployment Authority

2025-03-22 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

Federal District Court in D.C. issued a landmark ruling challenging Trump administration’s unilateral National Guard deployment powers. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled that Trump violated the Posse Comitatus Act by sending National Guard troops to Los Angeles for immigration …

Federal District Court Department of Defense State Governors Donald Trump 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals +5 more national-guard military-authority constitutional-interpretation executive-power judicial-review +2 more

Lewis Powell Sworn in as Supreme Court Justice, Begins Implementing Corporate Blueprint

1972-01-07 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

Lewis F. Powell Jr. was sworn in as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on January 7, 1972, after being nominated by President Nixon and confirmed by the Senate with an overwhelming 89-1 vote. A corporate lawyer with board memberships in 11 major corporations, Powell’s appointment …

Lewis F. Powell Jr. Richard Nixon Supreme Court U.S. Senate powell-supreme-court judicial-capture corporate-interests constitutional-interpretation nixon-administration

National Road Reaches Wheeling, Demonstrating Federal Infrastructure Capability Despite Constitutional Debates

1818-08-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 6/10

The National Road, also known as the Cumberland Road, reaches Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia) on the Ohio River after seven years of construction, completing the first federally funded interstate highway in American history. President Thomas Jefferson had promoted the road to support westward …

U.S. Congress Thomas Jefferson George Washington Henry McKinley infrastructure internal-improvements westward-expansion constitutional-interpretation

Madison Vetoes Bonus Bill for Internal Improvements on Constitutional Grounds, Setting Precedent Against Federal Infrastructure

1817-03-03 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 7/10

On the last day of his administration, President James Madison vetoes the Bonus Bill, legislation proposed by Representative John C. Calhoun to earmark the $1.5 million revenue “bonus” and future dividends (estimated at $650,000 annually) from the recently established Second Bank of the …

President James Madison John C. Calhoun Henry Clay U.S. Congress constitutional-interpretation internal-improvements infrastructure states-rights institutional-obstruction

Marbury v. Madison Establishes Judicial Review and Supreme Court Power Expansion

1803-02-24 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

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 Marshall William Marbury Secretary of State James Madison U.S. Supreme Court judicial-power constitutional-interpretation institutional-capture unelected-power judicial-supremacy