Well before modern media and viral court coverage, a series of Supreme Court rulings forged the contours of American law. These twelve early decisions tackled questions of power, liberty, and governmental limits, establishing doctrines still cited today. From affirming the Court’s authority to invalidate legislation to defining free speech, due process, and the balance between state and federal power, each case pushed legal boundaries and stirred public debate. Join us as we revisit twelve landmark opinions decided before 1950 that underpin the United States’ constitutional order.
1. Marbury V. Madison (1803): Birth Of Judicial Review
When William Marbury’s commission was withheld, Chief Justice John Marshall seized the moment to declare that courts may overturn statutes conflicting with the Constitution. By ruling the Judiciary Act of 1789 unconstitutional, the Supreme Court for the first time claimed the power to invalidate federal laws—judicial review. This watershed moment transformed the judiciary into a coequal branch, empowered to ensure that neither Congress nor the President oversteps constitutional bounds.
2. McCulloch V. Maryland (1819): Federal Authority Affirmed
Maryland tried to levy a tax on the Second Bank of the United States, directly testing the bounds of federal authority. In response, Chief Justice Marshall held that Congress possesses not only explicit powers but also implied ones under the Necessary and Proper Clause. He further ruled that states cannot impede valid federal operations. By affirming federal supremacy and broad congressional authority, this decision secured national cohesion and prevented individual states from undermining essential federal institutions.
3. Dred Scott V. Sandford (1857): Citizenship Denied
Dred Scott, an enslaved man who lived temporarily in free territories, sued for his freedom only to lose in a decision that condemned him and all African Americans to non-citizen status. The Court also declared Congress powerless to prohibit slavery in new territories. This ruling outraged abolitionists, deepened sectional conflict, and hastened the Civil War. Its moral and legal failures ultimately led to the 13th and 14th Amendments, which overruled its most egregious provisions.
4. Plessy V. Ferguson (1896): “Separate But Equal” Upheld
Homer Plessy, a man of mixed race, contested Louisiana’s statute mandating separate train cars for Black and white passengers. The Supreme Court endorsed state-mandated segregation, holding that separate facilities satisfied the Equal Protection Clause if they were “equal.” By upholding “separate but equal,” the decision entrenched Jim Crow throughout the South, sanctioning segregation in schools, transit, and public spaces. It wasn’t until Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 that the Court ruled segregation inherently unequal.
5. Lochner V. New York (1905): Striking Down Labor Laws
New York limited bakers to a ten-hour day to protect health and safety, but the Supreme Court struck this down as an unconstitutional interference with free contract under the 14th Amendment. The decision prioritized individual economic liberty over state efforts at labor reform. During the ensuing Lochner era, the Supreme Court struck down a wide range of labor protections and economic regulations. It wasn’t until the New Deal years that this hands-off approach to regulation was largely abandoned in favor of broader governmental power.
6. Schenck V. United States (1919): Speech And Public Safety
During World War I, Charles Schenck handed out pamphlets urging men to refuse induction into the draft. Convicted under the Espionage Act, he appealed to the Supreme Court, which introduced the “clear and present danger” test. Justice Holmes held that speech posing a clear and present danger to national security may lawfully be curtailed. This ruling marked a key moment in First Amendment law, balancing individual expression against wartime exigencies. Over time, speech protections would expand, but Schenck laid the foundation for modern free-speech analysis.
7. Gitlow V. New York (1925): Incorporating Free Expression
Benjamin Gitlow was imprisoned for distributing a socialist pamphlet that called for the government’s overthrow. The Supreme Court upheld his conviction but, for the first time, assumed that fundamental free-speech rights apply to state governments through the 14th Amendment’s Due Process Clause. This decision began the process of “incorporation,” whereby most rights in the Bill of Rights were extended against the states. As a result, Gitlow paved the way for decades of state court decisions expanding civil-liberties protections.
8. Brown v. Mississippi (1936): Ending Coerced Confessions
Three Black men were beaten until they confessed to murder and then convicted. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that evidence obtained by physical torture violated due process. Justice Hughes wrote that forced confessions “offend[ ] any sense of justice.” This landmark decision forbade violence-induced testimony and began the Court’s gradual expansion of procedural safeguards for criminal defendants, presaging later rulings on police interrogation and the right to counsel.
9. NLRB V. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. (1937): Championing Collective Bargaining
When steel company leaders contested it, the National Labor Relations Act enshrined workers’ rights to form unions and negotiate collectively. The Supreme Court upheld this key New Deal law under the Commerce Clause, rejecting the notion that local labor disputes fall outside federal authority. By recognizing labor relations as a matter of national concern, the decision empowered unions, stabilized labor markets, and affirmed expansive federal powers to regulate economic affairs.
10. West Coast Hotel V. Parrish (1937): Embracing Economic Regulation
The Court reversed its Lochner-era stance when it upheld Washington state’s minimum-wage law for women. A majority declared that freedom of contract may yield to legitimate state interests in protecting health and welfare. This pivotal case endorsed broader government regulation of business conditions, opening the door for New Deal legislation and marking the end of judicial hostility to social-welfare statutes.
11. United States V. Butler (1936): Defining Spending Powers
Congress imposed a tax to fund farm subsidies under the Agricultural Adjustment Act, aiming to raise crop prices. The Supreme Court invalidated the law, ruling that federal expenditures must serve the “general welfare” without coercing state action. Although striking down a New Deal measure, the decision affirmed expansive taxing authority while cautioning against overreach. It clarified the limits and scope of congressional power to influence private and state activities through conditional spending.
12. Everson V. Board Of Education (1947): Incorporating The Establishment Clause
New Jersey reimbursed parents for children’s bus fares to parochial schools. Applying the Establishment Clause to state actions, the Court ruled that reimbursing parents for their children’s school bus fares was a secular safety measure and did not breach church–state separation. Justice Black emphasized that no government—federal or state—may provide financial support to religious institutions. Everson cemented the principle that government actions must neither advance nor inhibit faith, laying the groundwork for modern church-state jurisprudence.
