The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States, currently comprised of nine Justices. Despite its humble beginnings, the Court has been the center of many historical and cultural shifts in the United States. In the federal government's infancy in the late 1700s, the Court was the weakest branch of the federal government, lacking significant power in the checks and balances. However, Chief Justice John Marshall shifted the balance through the outcome of Marbury v. Madison which resulted in the Supreme Court introducing judicial review over new federal laws passed by Congress. Judicial review has allowed the Supreme Court to be so powerful in American history.
 |
| Current Supreme Court Justices |
In my reading, I found the Korematsu v. United States outcome to be the most surprising facts about the Court. I was aware of the Japanese internment camps in WWII, though I had never put much thought into their legality. In this case, Korematsu, a Japanese-American man, refused to enter an interment camp as he believed this violated his constitutional rights. I was surprised and disappointed as I read about this case.
Additionally, I found the list of important cases to be very interesting, such as Texas v. Johnson and Mapp v. Ohio. The Supreme Court is especially interesting to me due to it's complex and sometimes contradictory history. I was not expecting the overturn of Roe v. Wade, which has left me wondering if the court will continue in this regressive direction.
Primary source - history.com
No comments:
Post a Comment