Judicial Branch DBQ

Doc A

• Author: US Supreme Court (Marshall)• Place and Time: US, 1803• Prior Knowledge: John Adams gave jobs to his

friends a few days before leaving office, Jefferson was getting ready to take office and didn’t like the appointments, political parties begin playing a role,

Doc A

• Reason: Make Jefferson mad, party politics, government becomes inefficient (divided), limits Jefferson power as President

• Main Idea: Jefferson refused to commission a justice of the peace

• Significance: Established JUDICIAL REVIEW, made the judicial branch STRONG, they now could rule laws unconstitutional

Doc B

• Author: Unknown• Place and Time: Unknown• Prior Knowledge: Identify the branches and

know their roles, the Constitution is the rule book for our government, all branches are equal in power, checks and balances, separation of powers

Doc B

• Reason: advantage to the legislative branch, executive branch feels overmatched, equal checks and balances???

• Main Idea: Checks and balances not occurring, one branch too powerful, US Constitution should decide

• Significance: Not an example of separation of powers, US Constitution the “supreme law of the land”, judicial branch has final say

Doc C

• Author: US Supreme Court (Marshall)• Place and Time: US, 1819• Prior Knowledge: national government can’t

be taxed by the states, national bank is constitutional, expands the power of the federal government at the expense of the states

Doc C

• Reason: shows the power of the national government, another example of judicial review

• Main Idea: expanded the power of the national government, states losing power, Congress has implied powers (elastic clause)

• Significance: Congress can pass laws and do things that are not necessarily in the Constitution, reading between the lines

Doc D

• Author: US Supreme Court (Warren)• Place and Time: US, 1954

• Prior Knowledge: Separate-but-equal was ruled constitutional (Plessy v Ferguson, 1896), this decision led to the civil rights movement, some states refused to follow this ruling

Doc D

• Reason: Declares segregation unconstitutional, power of the Supreme Court

• Main Idea: Society was changing, people were realizing that the old ways were holding back the country as a whole

• Significance: Led to civil rights movement, increased freedoms for many Americans, Supreme Court reflecting what society was demanding

Doc E

• Author: US Supreme Court (Blackmun)• Place and Time: US, 1973• Prior Knowledge: Deals with abortion, state of

Texas said you could not choose to have one, Bill of Rights protects many individual freedoms

Doc E

• Reason: US Supreme Court involved in an issue of growing debate, (pro-choice vs pro-life), Court has the final say

• Main Idea: ruled that no state could deny women the right to choose to have an abortion

• Significance: Protection of Constitutional freedoms and liberties

Doc F

• Author: US Supreme Court (Burger)• Place and Time: US, 1974• Prior Knowledge: Watergate scandal, Nixon

resigns from office due to taping his conversations and refusing to turn over tapes, people began to fear the government (Vietnam, Pentagon Papers)

Doc F

• Reason: Executive privilege is not above the Constitution, Judicial Branch has power over the President

• Main Idea: Checks and balances, no one is above the law

• Significance: Shows that the power of the President is limited by the Supreme Court, limits the power of the President