Marbury v. Madison, legal case in which, on February 24, 1803, the U.S. Supreme Court first declared an act of Congress unconstitutional, thus establishing the doctrine of judicial review. The court’s opinion, written by Chief Justice John Marshall, is considered one of the foundations of U.S. constitutional law.
The Dred Scott case was a Supreme Court case which was arguing about whether a slave who lived in a free state was a free man. Dred Scott was a slave who worked in Missouri. From 1833 to 1843, he moved to Illinois which was a free state. He brought the case to court and said that since he lived in a free state and slavery was not allowed there, he should be a free man. The final decision by the Supreme Court was that Dred Scott sadly was enslaved once again, however he was taken in by a slave owner who released them before he died. The importance of the case was that it made many people rethink on about slavery and what slave states and more. The Dred Scott case made tensions more tighter and almost pushed for civil war which would happen in the American Civil War. It became very famous throughout history and can be read in many American History textbooks in schools.
