Download Marbury v. Madison (1803) Elements of the Case State the issue

Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Elements of the Case
1. State the issue before the Supreme Court in this case.
2. What facts of the case were presented to the Court?
3. What was the decision of the Court? What was the rationale behind it?
4. What was the effect of the decision?
Evaluation of the Case
1. Do you think the framers of the Constitution intended the Supreme Court to have the power of
judicial review as part of the system of “checks and balances”? Explain
2. What would be the effect on the United States if this decision had not validated the idea that the
Supreme Court has the power to judge whether acts of Congress are unconstitutional?
3. According to John Marshall, what actions were necessary to make the commissions legal? Was it
the delivery of the commissions or was it the process of Senate approval, the President’s signature,
and the official seal by the Secretary of State? Why was this an important point?
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Elements of the Case
1. State the issue before the Supreme Court in this case.
2. What facts of the case were presented to the Court?
3. What was the decision of the Court? What was the rationale behind it?
4. What was the effect of the decision?
Evaluation of the Case
1. Explain in your own words the meaning of Justice Marshall’s statement, “The power to tax is the
power to destroy.”
2. Think about the following statement and respond with your opinion. To paraphrase Justice
Marshall: a tax on the states by the United States government is a tax levied on its constituency by their
elected officials in the Congress, whereas a tax on the United States by a state legislature is a tax levied on
people who are not all the constituents of the legislators of that state. (Keep in mind that a constituent is
a person for whom a government may make laws and to whom elected officials are accountable.)
3. Was the decision in this case an example of the Court’s use of “loose interpretation” of the
Constitution or an example of “strict interpretation”? Explain
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
Elements of the Case
1. State the issue before the Supreme Court in this case.
2. What facts of the case were presented to the Court?
3. What was the decision of the Court? What was the rationale behind it?
4. What was the effect of the decision?
Evaluation of the Case
1. In your opinion, would the United States have grown into a major world power if it had not been
able to establish a national economy, free from barriers imposed by individual state legislatures?
Explain
2. When deciding cases, should the Court concern itself with the possible consequences, such as the
threatened southern secession during this case? Explain.
3. Who would control the power to regulate commerce in the United States if this decision or a
subsequent decision like it had not occurred? Explain
Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1824)
Elements of the Case
1. State the issue before the Supreme Court in this case.
2. What facts of the case were presented to the Court?
3. What was the decision of the Court? What was the rationale behind it?
4. What was the effect of the decision?
Evaluation of the Case
1. Why do you think the framers of the Constitution specifically denied state governments the right
to interfere with legally-made contracts? Explain
2. In your opinion, should the American Revolution and the end of English rule have broken the
contract made originally between the King and the trustees? Explain
3. What do you think the effect would have been on others who owned property, by way of a charter
or contract, if the decision had gone against the trustees?