Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 518 (1819), was a landmark decision in United States corporate law from the United States Supreme Court dealing with the application of the Contracts Clause of the United States Constitution to private corporations. The case arose when the president of Dartmouth College was deposed by its trustees, leading to the New Hampshire legislature attempting to force the college to become a public institution and thereby place the ability to appoint trustees in the hands of the governor of New Hampshire. The Supreme Court upheld the sanctity of the original charter of the college, which pre-dated the creation of the State.[1]
John Marshall was one of the most famous and distinguished Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who had an everlasting effect on the Constitution. In 1796, he took on a significant case known as Dartmouth College vs. Woodward. Little did he know this case would lead to a landmark decision in the United States corporate law from the Supreme Court. In doing so, the outcome of this case developed the meaning of the Constitution because a clause was created that prohibited state legislatures from interfering with individual property rights. This is also known as Amendment four in the Bill of Rights, and could not have been down without the help of John Marshall.
