7 Important Supreme Court Cases

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Marbury v. Madison was a historic case that established the precedent of judicial review. The ruling written by Chief Justice John Marshall cemented the authority of the judicial branch to declare a law unconstitutional and firmly established the checks and balances the Founding Fathers had intended.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

In a unanimous decision for McCulloch v. Maryland, the Supreme Court allowed for implied powers of the federal government according to the "necessary and proper" clause of the Constitution. The Court held that Congress ​possessed unenumerated powers not explicitly outlined in the Constitution.

This case allowed the powers of the federal government to expand and evolve beyond that specifically written in the Constitution.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Gibbons v. Ogden established the supremacy of the federal government over states' rights. The case gave the federal government the power to regulate interstate commerce, which was granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. This case was the first significant expansion of the power of the federal government over U.S. domestic policy, and thus enabled later legislation for setting civil rights at the national level.

The Dred Scott Decision (1857)

Scott v. Stanford, also known as the Dred Scott decision, had major implications about the condition of enslavement. The court case struck down the Missouri Compromise and the Kansas-Nebraska Act and ruled that just because an enslaved person was living in a "free" state, that didn't mean they weren't still enslaved. This ruling increased tensions between the North and South in the build-up to the Civil War.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Plessy v. Ferguson was a Supreme Court decision that upheld the separate but equal doctrine. This ruling interpreted the 13th Amendment to mean that separate facilities were allowed for different races. This case was a cornerstone of segregation in the South.

Korematsu v. United States (1946)

Korematsu v. United States upheld the conviction of Frank Korematsu for defying an order to be interned with other Japanese-Americans during World War II. This ruling placed the security of the United States over individual rights. This ruling remains in the spotlight as controversy swirls around the detention of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay prison.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Brown v. Board of Education overturned the separate but equal doctrine which had been given legal standing with Plessy v. Ferguson. This landmark case was a significant step in the civil rights movement. In fact, President Eisenhower sent federal troops to force desegregation of a school in Little Rock, Arkansas, based on this decision.