The Marshall Court and American Nationalism
1810-1824

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For each case listed, follow the link and click on the link – this will take you to the “abstract” which gives brief information about the case. You may need to look in your textbook, The Enduring Vision, to clarify the case. Be sure to include the dates that the case was argued. For some questions, you may need to refer to the “Significant Vocabulary” section at the end of this page.

The Supreme Court Cases

· Fletcher v. Peck

1. What land sale do you think this case is referring to?
2. What was the judgement of the Marshall Court in this case?
3. Which part of the Constitution could Marshall point to justify his decision?

· Gibbons v. Ogden

4. What was the issue before the Court in the case of Gibbons v. Ogden?
5. What was the Supremacy Law referred to in the decision?
6. What was the Commerce Clause referred to in the decision? What new meaning did the Marshall Court give to this part of the Constitution?
7. What was the decision? What do you think would be the effect of such a decision?

· McCulloch v. Maryland

8. What was the issue before the Court in the case of McCulloch v. Maryland?
9. What was the decision? What do you think would be the effect of such a decision?
10. What part of the Constitution did the Marshall Court use in justifying their decision?

· Dartmouth v. Woodward

11. What was the issue before the Court in the case of Dartmouth v. Woodward?
12. What was the decision?
13. What part of the Constitution did Marshall use to justify his decision?

General Questions

14. What did all four of the Marshall Court opinions have in common?
15. How do these decisions fit in with Federalist ideology?

Significant Vocabulary

1. Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution (Article VI)

2. Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8) –“(Congress shall have the power) To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes