Supreme Court Cases: Trends
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
The State of Maryland enacted a statute obliging all banks not chartered by the state but operating therein to pay additional taxes to the state government. McCulloch, an employee at the Baltimore branch of the Bank of the United States failed to comply with this regulation and the state sued him for violation. McCulloch moved to challenge the constitutionality of the statute. The appellate court held that as an institution incorporated by Congress, the Bank of the U.S. has a right to put up its branches anywhere in the country, and state governments have no power, whatsoever, to control the constitutional operations of such institutions (McGraw Hill Inc., n.d.).
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
A New York statute granted Aaron Ogden, a steamboat owner conducting business within the state waters, the exclusive right over the same, which meant that out-of-state steamboat operators had to pay in order to conduct business on New York state waters. Thomas Gibbons, another businessman operating between New York and New Jersey, challenged the constitutionality of this exclusivity on grounds that it created monopoly power and impeded on interstate trade. The court held that the law was in violation of the congressional...
Only Congress had the power to regulate the operations of steamboat operators conducting business across states (University of Florida, n.d; McGraw Hill, n.d).
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott, a pure-blooded Negro descended from slaves, resided in the free state of Illinois between and in an area of Louisiana that forbade slavery in line with the Missouri Compromise. He later moved to Missouri, where he was taken in as a slave in line with the provisions of Article III. He sued for his freedom, and the court rejected the same, arguing that Article III recognized U.S. citizens as the only citizens of a state; and that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional because it challenged the provisions of Article III.
Gitlow v. New York (1925)
Gitlow, an activist, was arrested and convicted under a New York state law for distributing copies of some manifesto that advocated for the use of class action and strikes in the settlement of industrial disputes. The state charged him for attempting to overthrow the government by force; and he brought suit challenging the constitutionality of the law. The court ruled in favor of the state, arguing that the First Amendment granted states the power to forbid…
