Founding Documents and Landmark Supreme Court Cases Flashcards

In Marbury v. Madison (1803), Chief Justice Marshall's assertion of judicial review was based primarily on which constitutional provision?

Answer: The Vesting Clause of Article III combined with the oath requirement of Article VI

Marshall grounded judicial review in Article III's grant of judicial power and the Article VI oath to support the Constitution. He reasoned that judges swearing to uphold the Constitution must have the authority to void laws contradicting it. The Supremacy Clause is often confused as the basis, but Marshall's reasoning centered on the judicial oath and the nature of a written constitution.

The Anti-Federalists' primary objection to ratifying the original Constitution — which ultimately led directly to the Bill of Rights — centered on which specific structural concern?

Answer: The absence of an explicit enumeration of individual rights that the federal government could not violate

Anti-Federalists like George Mason and Patrick Henry argued that without an explicit bill of rights, the broad powers granted to the federal government could be used to oppress individual liberties. This concern was so significant that several states conditioned ratification on a promise to add such protections, directly producing the first ten amendments.

In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), the Supreme Court held that Maryland could not tax the Second Bank of the United States. Which doctrine did Marshall invoke to strike down the state tax, distinct from his ruling on the bank's constitutionality?

Answer: The Supremacy Clause, because a state cannot use its taxing power to destroy an instrument of the federal government

McCulloch produced two rulings: first, that Congress had implied power to charter the bank; second, that Maryland's tax was unconstitutional because 'the power to tax involves the power to destroy.' Marshall invoked the Supremacy Clause to hold that states cannot impede or burden federal operations. The Necessary and Proper Clause addressed the bank's existence, not the tax.

The Third Amendment's prohibition on quartering soldiers 'without the consent of the Owner' applies explicitly during peacetime. What does the amendment prescribe for wartime quartering?

Answer: Wartime quartering may occur in a manner prescribed by law, meaning Congress may authorize it by statute

The Third Amendment draws a deliberate distinction: peacetime quartering requires the owner's consent; wartime quartering 'but in a manner to be prescribed by law' — meaning Congress retains authority to legislate on the matter. This rarely tested nuance reflects the Framers' compromise between military necessity and property rights.

In Engel v. Vitale (1962), the Supreme Court ruled that New York's state-composed school prayer violated the Establishment Clause even though the prayer was nondenominational and participation was voluntary. Which principle best explains why voluntariness did not save the prayer?

Answer: Government composition and sponsorship of prayer constitutes establishment regardless of coercion or denominational specificity

The Court held that government sponsorship and composition of an official prayer is itself an Establishment Clause violation — coercion is not required. The state had put its 'official stamp of approval' on religion by writing and promoting the prayer. The Lemon test was not established until 1971 (Lemon v. Kurtzman), so it played no role in Engel.

Which provision of the original unamended Constitution most directly addressed the institution of slavery without using the word 'slavery,' and what was its precise constitutional effect?

Answer: Article I, Section 2's Three-Fifths Clause — it counted enslaved persons as three-fifths of a person for apportionment of representatives and direct taxes

The Three-Fifths Clause (Article I, Section 2) counted 'other Persons' — a euphemism for enslaved people — as three-fifths for both House apportionment and direct tax purposes. This gave slaveholding states disproportionate political power in Congress and the Electoral College. The Importation Clause (Article I, Section 9) prohibited Congress from banning the slave trade before 1808 — the opposite of immediate abolition. The Fugitive Slave Clause (Article IV, Section 2) required return of escaped enslaved persons, not legal standing to sue.