The Supreme Court again explicitly affirmed corporate personhood, holding that “It is again decided that private corporations are persons within the meaning of [the Fourteenth] Amendment.” The case involved South Carolina’s requirement that railroads pay the salaries and expenses …
U.S. Supreme CourtCharlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railroad CompanySouth Carolina LegislatureState Railroad Commissioncorporate-personhoodsupreme-courtfourteenth-amendmentrailroad-regulationdue-process
The Supreme Court formally declared corporate personhood as settled constitutional law, with Justice Stephen Field writing that “Corporations are persons within the meaning of the clauses in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution concerning the deprivation of property, and concerning the …
U.S. Supreme CourtJustice Stephen FieldMinneapolis & St. Louis Railway Companycorporate-personhoodsupreme-courtfourteenth-amendmentdue-processequal-protection+1 more
In an 8-0 decision authored by Justice Stephen Field, the U.S. Supreme Court explicitly affirmed corporate personhood under the Fourteenth Amendment, holding that “Under the designation of ‘person’ there is no doubt that a private corporation is included. Such corporations are …
U.S. Supreme CourtJustice Stephen FieldPembina Consolidated Silver Mining and Milling CompanyCommonwealth of Pennsylvaniacorporate-personhoodsupreme-courtfourteenth-amendmentdue-processcorporate-rights
In what would become one of the most consequential non-rulings in American legal history, a court reporter’s headnote to Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad established the foundation for corporate personhood without the Supreme Court ever deciding the issue. Before oral arguments, …
U.S. Supreme CourtChief Justice Morrison WaiteJ.C. Bancroft Davis (Court Reporter)Southern Pacific RailroadSanta Clara County+1 morecorporate-personhoodsupreme-courtfourteenth-amendmentconstitutional-lawgilded-age+3 more
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