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Class Date: September 16th
Location: Your couch! See your weekly e-mail for Zoom link!
The Supremes
The Supremes
This week we are looking at the beginnings of the Supreme Court. Before our class, let’s take a look at the events of the time, including some world events to give us more historical context!
1760 - The Industrial Revolution begins in England
The Industrial Revolution is often considered one of the most profound changes in human history, as it radically impacted everyday life for every generation thereafter. The shift from small cottage industries to mechanized production quite literally changed the world.
To watch a 9 minute video on the Industrial Revolution, and to explore why it began in England, click here
1762 - Catherine II becomes czarina of Russia
Catherine, the wife of Russia’s emperor Peter III, gathered the armies of St. Petersburg against her husband and was declared Empress Catherine II (later known as Catherine the Great), the sole ruler of Russia. She would remain on the throne for 34 years, longer than any other woman in Russian history.
1765 - British Acts
Great Britain passed the Stamp Act and the Quartering Act in March. The Stamp Act taxed all paper goods and legal documents, while the Quartering Act required colonists to provide food and housing for British troops. The Virginia House of Burgesses challenges the legality of the Stamp Act and the Stamp Act Congress meets in October to discuss the crisis in the colonies.
1766 - Declaratory Act
British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act but passes the Declaratory Act, which underscores the authority of Parliament over the British colonies.
1770 - The Boston Massacre
With tensions in the colonies already high as a result of a series of taxes and acts from the British government, the death of a young boy in an altercation between those boycotting British goods and those who weren’t primed the tensions in Boston for explosion.
For a video overview of that night in Boston, click here:
To read a good overview of the event, click here: https://www.britannica.com/event/Boston-Massacre
1773 - The Tea Act and the Boston Tea Party
Attempting to bolster the floundering East India Company, who were in possession of millions of pounds of unsold tea, the British government passed the Tea Act to ship and sell the tea cheaply in the colonies.
Colonials were furious at the move that would undercut local merchants. After the three ships carrying the tea entered Boston Harbor, angry colonists disguised themselves as Native Americans and tossed 342 chests of tea into the harbor.
1774 - The ‘Intolerable Acts’
A series of additional acts passed by the British Parliament designed to raise further taxes and bring the colonies back into submission.
July 4th, 1776 - The Declaration of Independence is adopted
56 men affixed their signatures to the Declaration of Independence, moving towards a new nation. (They officially signed the version on parchment on August 2nd, but they officially adopted the document on July 4th).
1781 - William Herschel discovers Uranus
Herschel was a composer of 24 symphonies and 14 concertos, but it was his astronomical discoveries that he is most remembered or. His study of the skies led to a catalog of 2,500 deep-sky objects identified positionally. He first noted the existence of the planet Uranus in 1781 and he would identify 2 of its moons in 1787. To read more of his stellar discoveries, click here: https://aas.org/posts/news/2022/01/month-astronomical-history-january-2022
1789 - George Washington is inaugurated as the first president
Washington had been chosen unanimously by electors, with John Adams as his Vice President. There was no direct presidential election at the time. Washington was elected in February and inaugurated in New York City in April. In September of the same year, the Federal Judiciary Act is passed to create the Supreme Court.
1791 - The First Bank of the United States is chartered
The bank is chartered in Philadelphia for 20 years by Congress, part of an overall federal fiscal policy. A federal mint and excise taxes were also established.
1793 - Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette executed in France
Both Louis and Marie were executed after they had been imprisoned for some years for treason. To read more about the French Revolution and abolishment of the monarchy, click here: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/king-louis-xvi-executed
1800 - The United States Library of Congress is founded
Now one of the largest libraries in the world, the Library of Congress originated as a way for Congressional Members to archive and retrieve information. Much of the early collection was furnished by Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers.
1803 - The Louisiana Purchase
Thomas Jefferson doubled the size of the United States, by purchasing the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon, which would pave the way for western expansion for the next century.
Recommended Reading
Recommended Reading
To read more about this period, here are some great books to get you started:
For kids:
The Supreme Court of the United States: A Student Companion by John J. Patrick
This completely revised and updated third edition to the Young Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States (1994) and The Supreme Court of the United States, second edition (2001) contains a complete, A-to-Z encyclopedia of the Supreme Court, its history, and current operations. Best for grades 6 and up.
The Little Book of the Supreme Court by Zack Bush and Laurie Friedman
There are so many things to know about our judicial system—not only what it is, but how it works on a local, state and federal level, and why it is so important. It is all explained in The Little Book of the Supreme Court.
This book for children provides a basic and easy-to-understand introduction to our country’s judicial system and the role it plays in our society. Important concepts like a trial by jury, the role of the Constitution, and lawmaking are explained, along with an introduction to how our nation’s highest court, the Supreme Court, works.
For adults:
The American Supreme Court by Robert G. McCloskey
For more than fifty years, Robert G. McCloskey’s classic work on the Supreme Court’s role in constructing the US Constitution has introduced generations of students to the workings of our nation’s highest court.
As in prior editions, McCloskey’s original text remains unchanged. In his historical interpretation, he argues that the strength of the Court has always ben its sensitivity to the changing political scene, as well as its reluctance to stray too far from the main currents of public sentiment. In this new edition, Sanford Levinson extends McCloskey’s magisterial treatment to address developments since the 2010 election, including the Supreme Court’s decisions regarding the Defense of Marriage Act, the Affordable Care Act, and gay marriage.
The best and most concise account of the Supreme Court and its place in American politics, McCloskey's wonderfully readable book is an essential guide to the past, present, and future prospects of this institution.
John Marshall and the Heroic Age of the Supreme Court by R. Kent Newmyer
John Marshall and the Heroic Age of the Supreme Court by R. Kent Newmyer
John Marshall (1755--1835) was arguably the most important judicial figure in American history. As the fourth chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from 1801 to1835, he helped move the Court from the fringes of power to the epicenter of constitutional government. His great opinions in cases like Marbury v. Madison and McCulloch v. Maryland are still part of the working discourse of constitutional law in America. Drawing on a new and definitive edition of Marshall's papers, R. Kent Newmyer combines engaging narrative with new historiographical insights in a fresh interpretation of John Marshall's life in the law. More than the summation of Marshall's legal and institutional accomplishments, Newmyer's impressive study captures the nuanced texture of the justice's reasoning, the complexity of his mature jurisprudence, and the affinities and tensions between his system of law and the transformative age in which he lived. It substantiates Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.'s view of Marshall as the most representative figure in American law.
Works Cited
Works Cited
https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191736810.timeline.0001
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Native-American/Native-American-history
https://pages.nativehope.org/reflecting-on-our-foundations#understanding-native-tribes
https://www.ushistory.org/us/2f.asp
http://www.fm.coe.uh.edu/timeline/1600s.html
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/catherine-the-great-assumes-power-russia
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