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The U.S. Constitution Selected Constitutional Decisions and Other Sites

SELECTED CONSTITUTIONAL DECISIONS AND OTHER SITES

(1) Marbury v. Madison, 1 Cranch 137 (1803)—The Courts, and particularly the United States Supreme Court, in the exercise of their power and duty to apply the governing law, may declare congressional enactments unconstitutional.

Site:

William Marbury's House, 3350 M Street, Washington, DC—William Marbury's House has been substantially modified since 1803. A new first floor with store front has been added; a new third floor has been added and the interior has been subdivided into apartments. The loss of integrity coupled with the fact that the house is not sufficiently associated with the facts of the case prevent its designation as a National Historic Landmark. (No integrity.)

(2) Fletcher v. Peck, 6 Cranch 87 (1810)—The courts, and particularly the United States Supreme Court, in the exercise of their power and duty to apply the governing law, may declare state enactments unconstitutional.

Site:

This case involved the disputed sale of 15,000 acres of land within a larger 500,000-acre tract. The location of this land is as follows: Mississippi River, where latitude 32 degrees 40 minutes north of the equator intersects same, running thence along the same parallel of latitude a due east course to the Tombigbee River, thence up the said Tombigbee to where the latitude of 32 degrees 43 minutes 52 seconds intersects the same, thence along the same parallel of latitude a due west course to the Mississippi; thence down the said river, to the place of beginning. (Site not appropriate for designation.)

(3) Martin v. Hunter's Lessee, 1 Wheaton 304 (1816)—The United States Supreme Court may review and set aside state court judgments.

Sites:

(a) The Federal District Court Building in Winchester, Virginia. (Site not found.)

(b) Piece of land in the Northern Neck, Virginia. (Site not found.)

(4) Cohens v. Virginia, 6 Wheaton 264 (1821)—Asserts Supreme Court's sweeping and definitive interpretation of its right of appellate jurisdiction over decisions of the highest state courts.

Sites:

(a) Cohens' House, Elizabeth River Parish, Norfolk, Virginia. (Site not found.)

(b) Courthouse in Norfolk, Virginia. (Not extant.)

(5) Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, 11 Peters 420 (1837)—Court ruled that grants by state legislatures might not be construed as exclusive unless they specifically state so. (Both of these bridges are no longer extant.)

A . THE SELECTION, ELECTION, QUALIFICATIONS, AND PRIVILEGES OF THE MEMBERS OF THE TWO HOUSES

(6) Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 (1964)—Art. I, Sec. 2, required that congressional districts be equal in population. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(7) Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486 (1969)—The House may not exclude a person elected to the House who possesses the constitutional qualifications despite its power under Art. I, Sec. 2, to determine the qualifications of its members. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

B. CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATIONS

(8) McGrain v. Daughterty, 273 U.S. 135 (1927)—Congress has power to investigate as an incident of its power to legislate, and to compel the testimony of private citizens in connection with its investigations. (No sites found.)

C. THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS

(9) Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Chadha, 462 U.S. 919 (1983)—Provisions for legislative veto of executive action, save by enactment of legislation, are unconstitutional. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

D. THE LEGISLATIVE POWERS OF CONGRESS

(1) IN GENERAL

(10) McCulloch v. Maryland, 4 Wheaton 316 (1819)— Congress has the power, as necessary and proper to carry out its express powers, to incorporate the Bank of the United States.

Sites:

(a) The Baltimore Branch of the Second Bank of the United States occupied the second floor of a two-story building in the historic financial and business center of Baltimore. Its precise address is unknown. Since this area was leveled by a fire in 1904 it is unlikely that the building survives. A search of the records of the Maryland Historical Trust and the Baltimore Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation failed to yield any information about this structure.

(b) Andalusia (Nicholas Biddle Estate), 1.4 miles north of Philadelphia on State Road, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1794; 1834 Thomas U. Walter—Residence of Nicholas Biddle, head of the Second Bank of the United States, famous as President Jackson's opponent in the struggle to recharter the Bank.

To the original house, whose north front is an outstanding example of the Regency style in the U.S., he added a wing modeled on Greek temples. (National Historic Landmark.)

(2) DELEGATION OF CONGRESSIONAL POWER

(11) A. L. A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, 295 U.S. 495 (1935)—The National Industrial Recovery Act, giving the President "virtually unfettered" discretion to approve codes of fair competition, was an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power.

Sites:

(a) Schechter Live Poultry Market, 991 Rockaway Avenue, Brooklyn, New York (Demolished.)

(b) A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corporation, 858 East 52nd Street, Brooklyn, New York. There is no building at 858 East 52nd Street today. The closest building to this site is 860 East 52nd Street.

(3) THE COMMERCE POWER

(12) Gibbons v. Ogden, 9 Wheaton 1 (1824)—Chief Justice John Marshall defines the congressional power to regulate interstate commerce and, invalidating New York's grant of a steamboat monopoly, establishes that by its own force the commerce clause limits the power of the states to regulate interstate commerce.

The issue involved two steamboats Stoudinger and Bellona traveling between New York and Elizabethtown, New Jersey.

Unable to locate any appropriate site associated with the facts of this case.

(13) Champion v. Ames, 188 U.S. 321 (1903)—Congress may prohibit the interstate transportation of lottery tickets.

Sites:

(a) Pan American Lottery Company in Dallas, County, Texas—1899. This company occupied many temporary locations in Dallas in its attempt to stay one jump ahead of the law. Some of these sites are listed below:

(1) Office Building, 385 Main Street, Dallas, Texas.
(2) McCloud Hotel, Dallas, Texas.
(3) Gill Building, 369 Elm Street, Dallas, Texas.
(4) Office Building, 371 Elm Street, Dallas, Texas.

Not suitable for designation.

(14) Shreveport Rate Case, 234 U.S. 342 (1914)—Congress may authorize setting aside an intrastate railroad rate that burdens interstate commerce by discriminating against it.

Sites:

(a) Houston, East and West Railway Company.
(b) Houston and Shreveport Railway Company.
(c) Texas and Pacific Railway Company.

Unable to locate—not meaningful.

(15) Wickard v. Filburn, 317 U.S. 111 (1942)—Congress can constitutionally provide for penalizing Mr. Roscoe E. Filburn for growing wheat to feed his own hogs .

Site:

Roscoe E. Filburn's Farm, Montogomery County, Ohio. The Filburn Farm is no longer extant. There are no surviving buildings.

(16) Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States, 379 U.S. 241 (1964)—The commerce clause empowers Congress to forbid a local motel to discriminate against people on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(4) THE TAXING AND SPENDING POWER

(17) United States v. Butler, 297 U.S. 1 (1936)—The power to tax and spend for the general welfare is not limited by the list of express substantive powers .

Site:

Hoosac Mills Corporation, New Bedford, Massachusetts; Taunton, Massachusetts; North Adams, Massachusetts. (Not meaningful to the facts of the case.)

(5) THE WAR POWER

(18) Woods v. Cloyd W. Miller Co., 333 U.S. 148 (1948)— Congress may regulate rents even after the cessation of hostilities, pursuant to the war power. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

E. LIMITATIONS ON LEGISLATIVE POWER

(19) Pollock v. Farmer's Loan & Trust Co., 157 U.S. 429, 158 U.S. 601 (1895)—Income tax is ruled unconstitutional as a direct tax, not apportioned among the states by population, insofar as it reaches income from real or personal property.

Unable to locate.

Sites:

(a) Charles Pollock's Home, Boston, Massachusetts.

(b) Farmers Loan and Trust Company, New York City.

(20) Ex parte Milligan, Wallace 2 (1866)—Martial law may not be constitutionally imposed where civil courts are open.

Sites:

(a) Davis (David) House, 1000 E. Monroe Street, Bloomington, Illinois—2-story Italian Villa-style brick mansion built for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court David Davis. He wrote the majority opinion in Ex parte Milligan (1866), restricting the right of military courts to try civilians. (National Historic Landmark.)

(b) Garfield (James A.) Home (Lawnfield), 1059 Mentor Avenue, Mentor, Ohio—Garfield represented Milligan in his defense before the Supreme Court in 1866. (National Historic Landmark and National Historic Site.)

(c) Milligan's Home, Indianapolis, Indiana. (Unable to locate.)

(21) Ex parte Garland, 4 Wallace 333 (1867)—Requirement for admission to practice law in the federal courts of an oath that a lawyer had not taken part in the rebellion was invalid as a bill of attainder. (Unable to identify any site associated with this case.)

F. EXPRESS LIMITATIONS ON STATE POWER

(22) Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 4 Wheaton 518 (1819)— The contract clause bars legislative impairment of corporate charter.

Sites:

(a) Woodward-Lord House, 16 North Park Street, Hanover, New Hampshire—The Woodward-Lord House was built in 1802 by William H. Woodward, a lawyer and grandson of Eleazar Wheelock (the first President of Dartmouth College), in anticipation of his marriage. Woodward was both the secretary and treasurer of Dartmouth College and a participant in the Dartmouth College Case. Woodward died in 1818, before the resolution of the case. According to tradition the house was the meeting place on at least one occasion of the Board of Trustees of Dartmouth University. A search of records at Dartmouth College failed to yield any documentation to support this claim.

After the death of William Woodward his widow sold the house (1830) to Nathan Lord, President of Dartmouth College. In 1894 the house was sold to Dartmouth College for use as college administrative offices. Between 1911 and 1920 the house was empty. In 1920 the Woodward-Lord House was moved from its original location on the Dartmouth Mall to 41 College Street in Hanover. In 1927 the house was sold to Professor Arthur Fairbanks whose wife was the granddaughter of President Lord. In 1944 Mary Fairbanks (daughter of Arthur Fairbanks) gave the house to the college. In the 1960s the house was moved to its present location at 16 North Park Street.

Over the years the Woodward Lord House has been completely remodeled and changed to meet the needs of its various owners. These changes include the enlargement of the entranceway into the living room, the attachment of an ell at the rear of the house for use as a kitchen, the cutting of a door in the back wall to service the ell, addition of other doors and windows on the first floor nor original to the house, subdivision of the second floor bedrooms with the addition of additional bedrooms, closets and bathrooms, addition of a classic style front porch, and the removal of original closets on both the first and second floors. The house is currently used for foreign student housing. (Moved; no integrity.)

(b) Dartmouth Hall, on the Dartmouth College Green, Hanover, New Hampshire—Dartmouth Hall is a replacement for the original Dartmouth Hall that burned in 1904. The original Dartmouth Hall was constructed from wood and is believed to have been designed by Bezaleel Woodward with the aid of plans by local carpenters. Dartmouth Hall burned again in 1935. With the exception of the use of brick rather than wood, and slightly wider proportions, and window details, the exterior is almost an exact copy of the original. The floor plan has been radically changed with a large lecture hall replacing the original two story chapel. (Replacement building.)

(c) Webster Cottage, 32 North Main Street, Hanover, New Hampshire—The Webster Cottage was originally situated at the southeast corner of North Main Street and Webster Avenue. It was moved to Kiewit Street in 1928 and to its present location on North Main Street in 1967. Daniel Webster rented a room at the cottage between 1800 and 1801 while an undergraduate at Dart mouth College. A vestibule was added to the cottage sometime in the nineteenth century. The structure now serves as a house museum for the Hanover Historical Society. (Moved; not sufficiently associated with the facts of the case.)

(d) Wheelock House, 4 West Wheelock Street, Hanover, New Hampshire—The Wheelock House was built in 1773 by President Eleazar Wheelock as his residence. After Eleazar Wheelock's death in 1779 the house passed to his son John, the new President of Dartmouth College. John Wheelock lived in the house until his death in 1817. Between 1837 and 1838 the Wheelock House was moved from its original location on East Wheelock Street to make way for the construction of Reed Hall. After 1846 the original gambrel roof was changed to the present steep A-roof, the entry was fancied up, and a side porch was added. In 1900 the house was extensively remodeled and used as the town library for Hanover. In 1912 brick library stacks were added to the rear. The Wheelock House is now owned by the Institute of Current World Affairs and the interior spaces have been remodeled for office use. (Moved; no integrity, not sufficiently associated with the facts of the case.)

(e) Webster (Daniel) Family Home (The Elms), S. Main Street, W. Franklin, New Hampshire—Used by Daniel Webster as a home, vacation retreat, and experimental farm. Gravesites of his parents and four brothers and sisters are located here. (National Historic Landmark.)

(23) Home Bldg. & Loan Ass'n v. Blaisdell, 229 U.S. 398 (1934)—The contract clause does not invalidate a state mortgage moratorium law relieving homeowners of the threat of foreclosure.

Site:

Vacant lot in Minneapolis. (Property is not meaningful to the facts of the case.)

(24) Brown v. Maryland, 12 Wheaton 449 (1827)—A license fee on importers violates the import-export and commerce clauses; "original package" doctrine expounded. (No site identified.)

(25) Michelin Tire Co. v. Wages, 423 U.S. 276 (1976)— Non-discriminatory state property tax on imported goods is sustained, overruling Low v. Austin, which had established the rigid "original package" rule. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

G. IMPLIED LIMITATION OF STATE POWER

(1) THE COMMERCE CLAUSE

(26) Cooley v. Board of Wardens, 12 Howard 299 (1851)— Subjects requiring national uniformity may be regulated only by Congress under the commerce clause, but states may regulate subjects of local concern even though in commerce.

The facts of this case involved a ship leaving Philadelphia engaged in interstate commerce. (No site identified.)

(27) Edwards v. California, 314 U.S. 160 (1941)—A California law prohibiting bringing indigents into the state is invalid under the commerce clause. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(28) Southern Pac. Co. v. Arizona, 325 U.S. 761 (1945)— Arizona's law limiting the length of trains is invalid under the commerce clause because it burdens interstate commerce, trains longer than what Arizona allows being the rule in other states, and does not serve a serious safety purpose.

Site:

Southern Packing Company, Arizona. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(29) Pike v. Bruce Church, Inc., 397 U.S. 137 (1970)—The commerce clause prevents Arizona from requiring that Arizona cantaloupes be packed in Arizona, thereby keeping a company from shipping cantaloupes to its California plant for packing; the opinion states the modern test case for consistency of state laws with the commerce clause, quoted in every subsequent case.

Sites:

(a) Bruce Church, Inc., cantaloupe farm in Parker, Arizona, located on the Colorado River Indian Agency Reservation, 6,400 acres.

(b) Bruce Church Packing Plant in Blythe, California.

Too recent to determine national significance.

(30) In re Raher, 140 U.S. 545 (1891)—Congress can allow state regulation that the commerce clause, in absence of federal legislation, would prohibit, in this case the regulation of alcoholic beverages. (No site identified.)

(31) McGoldrick v. Berwind-White Coal Mining Co., 309 U.S. 37 (1940)—A state sales tax on sales in a state commodity that comes from out of the state is sustained as consistent with the commerce clause in the opinion of Mr. Justice Stone that reflects the modern approach to state taxation. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(32) Northwestern States Portland Cement Co. v. Minnesota, 358 U.S. 450 (1958)—An apportioned state income tax on the proceeds of interstate commerce is constitutional, consistent with the commerce clause. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(33) Complete Auto Transit, Inc. v. Brady, 430 U.S. 274 (1977)—A state tax on the privilege of doing business is constitutional, consistent with the commerce clause. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(2) OTHER

(34) Crandall v. Nevada, 6 Wallace 35 (1867)—Capitation tax on interstate passengers is ruled unconstitutional.

Site:

St. Charles Hotel-Muller's Hotel (Pony Express Hotel), 302-304-310 South Carson Street, Carson City, Nevada. (National Register Property.)

The St. Charles Hotel housed the Pioneer Stage Coach Company. Mr. Crandall worked for the Pioneer Stage Coach Company and had his office in the building. The property has been severely mutilated over the years and lacks integrity. Alterations include but are not limited to the following: removal of the one story porch, alteration of the sills of the second floor windows, application of stucco in 1930 and removal of stucco by sandblasting resulting in damage to softer brick exterior, removal of cornices, placement of a two-story, brick, shed-roofed addition to the rear, placement of a one-story concrete addition to two-story addition, and the alteration of the interior spaces of the lobby. (No integrity.)

A. INHERENT PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORITY

(1) DOMESTIC AFFAIRS

(35) Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579 (1952)—President

Truman's order directing the seizure of steel mills in the midst of the Korean Conflict was invalid for the lack of statutory authority.

Site:

(a) Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company, 4 Central Square (Stambaugh Building), Youngstown, Ohio.

(b) District of Columbia District Court, Washington, DC.

This case involved many steel companies scattered across the United States. The designation of the Stambaugh Building in Youngstown, Ohio, is not appropriate to represent the facts of this case.

(2) FOREIGN AFFAIRS

(36) United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corporation, 299 U.S. 304 (1936)—A presidential arms embargo, authorized by congressional joint resolution, is sustained; Justice Sutherland's opinion expounds the foreign affairs power as independent of the Constitution and centered in the President.

Site:

Curtis-Wright Export Corporation. (Unable to locate. No address in court records.)

B. THE TREATY-MAKING POWER

(37) Geofroy v. Riggs, 133 U.S. 258 (1890)—The treaty-making power is defined. (No site identified.)

(38) Missouri v. Holland, 252 U.S. 416 (1920)—A treaty may enlarge federal power to extend into what would be, in the absence of a treaty, the states' domain.

Site: Stultz Lake, Vernon County, Missouri, located near Nevada, Missouri. (Not appropriate.)

C. THE POWER OF REMOVAL

(39) Myers v. United States, 272 U.S. 52 (1926)—The President may discharge his appointees even in the face of a statute providing for removal only with the advice and consent of the Senate. (No site identified.)

D. EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE

(40) United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683 (1974)—A President's privilege to withhold records of private consultations with his advisors is recognized but yields to a subpoena in aid of a criminal prosecution.

Site:

The Watergate Apartment Complex, Washington, DC. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

A. CASE OR CONTROVERSY

(41) Hayburn's Case, 2 Dallas 409 (1792)—Federal courts may not render judgments that are subject to review by the Executive. (No site identified.)

B. POLITICAL QUESTIONS

(42) Luther v. Borden, 7 Howard 1 (1848)—Federal Courts, confronted with two rival governments in Rhode Island, do not adjudicate which is the legitimate government .

Sites:

(a) Martin Luther's House, Bristol County, Rhode Island.

(b) Borden's House, Warren, Rhode Island.

Property not meaningful to the facts of the case.

(43) Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 169 (1962)—Federal Courts may adjudicate the constitutionality of apportionment of state legislatures.

Site:

Tennessee State Capitol, Capitol Hill, Nashville, Tennessee. (Existing National Historic Landmark.)

C. PUBLIC RIGHTS

(44) Murray's Lessee v. Hoboken Land & Improvement Co., 18 Howard 272 (1855)—"Public rights" may be adjudicated outside of courts, in administrative agencies. (No site identified.)

D. LIMITATION OF SUPREME COURT JURISDICTION

(45) Ex parte McCardle, 7 Wallace 506 (1869)—Congress may remove cases from Supreme Court's jurisdiction, in the case at hand an appeal from a denial of habeas corpus.

Sites:

(a) Warren County Courthouse, Court Square, Vicksburg, Mississippi. (Existing National Historic Landmark.) McCardle's trial took place in this courthouse.

(b) McCardle's House, Warren County, Mississippi. (Demolished.)

(c) Vicksburg Daily Times, Vicksburg, Mississippi—McCardle was the editor of the Vicksburg Daily Times. (Demolished.)

E. ARTICLE III LEGISLATIVE POWER

(46) Panama R.R. v. Johnson, 264 U.S. 375 (1924)—Admiralty clause of Article III empowers Congress to legislate in respect of admiralty matters. (No site identified.)

A. FULL FAITH AND CREDIT

(47) Milwaukee County v. White, 296 U.S. 268 (1935)—Full faith and credit must be given to judgments of sister-state courts, even judgment for taxes. (No site identified.)

B. PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES

(48) Corfield v. Coryell, 6 Fed. Cas. 546 (No. 3, 230) (C.C.E.D. Pa. 1823)—Bushrod Washington, J., on Circuit: Privileges and immunities of state citizen ship cataloged. (No site identified.)

C. INTERSTATE RENDITION

(49) Kentucky v. Dennison, 24 Howard 66 (1861)—The governor of a state has a duty on the request of a fellow governor to deliver up a fugitive, but this duty cannot be enforced. (No site identified.)

D. ADMISSION OF NEW STATES

(50) Coyle v. Smith, 221 U.S. 599 (1911)—New states are admitted on an equal footing with their sister states so that Congress may not in admitting Oklahoma restrict its right to move its capital.

Site:

Oklahoma State Capitol, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma—State Capitol was constructed from 1914 to 1917 and does not date from the period of the case.

(51) Florida Lime & Avocado Growers v. Paul, 373 U.S. 132 (1963)—California standards for avocadoes are not pre-empted by inconsistent federal standards; modern preemption doctrine explicated. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

A. GENERALLY

(52) Barron v. Baltimore, 7 Peters 243 (1833)—The first eight Amendments do not apply to the states by their own terms.

Site:

Barron's wharf was at the foot of Alicianna Street in Fells Point, Maryland. This part of Alicianna Street was filled in and built upon by the end of the century. No trace of Barron's wharf survives.

(53) Palko v. Connecticut, 302 U.S. 319 (1937)—Due process does not include at least some aspects of the double jeopardy prohibition of the Fifth Amendment.

Site:

Gilman's Music Store, 243 Fairfield Avenue, Bridgeport, Connecticut—Palko threw a brick through the window of the music store and shot and killed the policeman who came to arrest him. Murder took place on south side of Golden Hill Street. (Site not appropriate for designation.)

(54) Duncan v. Louisiana, 391 U.S. 145 (1968)—The Sixth Amendment guarantee of a jury in criminal trials is applicable to the states (contrary to a Palko dictum) because it "is fundamental to the American scheme of justice" and thus encompassed by due process. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

B. FIRST AMENDMENT

(1) FREEDOM OF SPEECH, PRESS, PETITION, AND ASSEMBLY

(55) Schenk v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919)—Conviction for violation of the Espionage Act is affirmed; the Court, per Holmes, J., first states the "clear and present danger" test.

Site:

Socialist Party Headquarters, 1326 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Demolished.)

(56) Gitlow v. New York, 268 U.S. 652 (1925)—The Court assumes the first amendment applies to the states; Holmes, J., dissents from a conviction by a state court of criminal anarchy based on the defendant's publications.

Sites:

(a) Revolutionary Age Newspaper, 43 West 29th Street, New York, New York—This building has a store front on the ground level with offices on the upper three levels. No integrity remains from the period dating to 1925 when the Revolutionary Age newspaper was published.

(b) Gitlow's Home, Compound, New York—This site is not sufficiently associated with the facts of the case to warrant designation as a National Historic Landmark.

(57) Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927)—Conviction of violating criminal syndicalism act is sustained; Brandeis, J., joined by Holmes, J., concurs with a much-quoted testimonial to the values of free speech. (Not believed to be nationally significant.)

(58) Near v. Minnesota, 283 U.S. 697 (1931)—The free speech and free press clause of First Amendment is held applicable to the states; prior restraint of scandalmongering, mean publication is unconstitutional.

Site:

Saturday Press Newspaper, 240 South 4th Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Demolished.)

(59) Grosjean v. American Press Co., 297 U.S. 233 (1936)—A Louisiana tax on large newspapers, imposed during Huey Long's governorship, violates the First Amendment. (Not believed to be nationally significant.)

(60) De Jonge v. Oregon, 299 U.S. 353 (1937)—Peaceable assembly for a lawful purpose cannot be made a crime .

Site:

Unity Center, 68 Adler Street, Portland, Oregon. (Demolished.)

(61) West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)—Schoolchildren, Jehovah's Witnesses, have a First Amendment right not to salute the flag. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(62) Dennis v. United States, 341 U.S. 494 (1951)—Conviction of top Communist leaders is sustained over First Amendment claims, the clear and present danger test is reframed to allow conviction for subversive teaching that seemed to pose no imminent threat. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(63) Yates v. United States, 354 U.S. 298 (1957)—In the review of the convictions of second-string Communist leaders, the convictions are reversed and the lenient standard of Dennis is abandoned. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(64) New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964)—State libel actions are subject to First Amendment restrictions; public officials may not recover for libel without proof of actual malice. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(65) Bond v. Floyd, 385 U.S. 116 (1966)—The First Amendment prevents a state legislature from refusing to seat one duly elected to membership on account of his political utterances and views. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(66) Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969)—Whitney is overruled, a conviction of violating criminal syndicalism statute is overturned, and a new free-speech standard building on a clear and present danger is enunciated. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(67) Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976)—Campaign expenditure limitations violate First Amendment, but contribution limitations are constitutional.

Sites:

(a) Law Offices, Covington and Burling, Washington, DC.

(b) Federal Election Commission, Washington, DC.

Too recent to determine national significance.

(2) FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION

(68) Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145 (1878)—Federal law making bigamy a crime in the territories may be applied to a Mormon claiming polygamy is a religious duty. (Not believed to be nationally significant.)

(69) Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U.S. 296 (1940)—Jehovah's Witness may not be convicted of breach of the peace for proselytizing on the streets; the free exercise of religion clause of the First Amendment is held applicable to the states .

Sites:

(a) Cassius Street, New Haven, Connecticut.

(b) House at 10 Cassius Street, New Haven, Connecticut.

Woman living at 10 Cassius Street called the police and had Mr. Newton Cantwell arrested. (Property not suitable for designation.)

(3) ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE

(70) Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1 (1947)—The establishment of religion clause of the First Amendment is held applicable to the states; New Jersey law providing public transportation for children attending parochial schools is not a law respecting the establishment of religion. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(71) Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962)—Official prayer in public schools is unconstitutional. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

C. FOURTH AMENDMENT

(72) Weeks v. United States, 232 U.S. 383 (1914)—Evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment is inadmissible in a federal trial.

Sites:

(a) Weeks Home in Kansas City, 834 Penn Street, Kansas City, Missouri. (Demolished.)

(b) Union Station, Kansas City, Missouri.

Mr. Weeks was arrested while working here. (Not an appropriate site for designation.)

(73) Wolf v. Colorado, 338 U.S. 25 (1949)—Fourth Amendment strictures in searches and seizures are applicable to the states but not the exclusionary rule. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(74) Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961)—The exclusionary rule is applicable to the states.

Site:

Dollree Mapp House, 14705 Milverton Road, Cleveland, Ohio.

Too recent to determine national significance. Should be rexamined in the future.

D. FIFTH AMENDMENT

(1) GRAND JURY INDICTMENT

(75) Ex parte Bain, 121 U.S. 1 (1887)—Absent waiver, a defendant in federal court can be tried only on indictment. (No site identified.)

(2) DOUBLE JEOPARDY

(76) Kepner v. United States, 195 U.S. 100 (1904)—Double jeopardy bars government appeal of a judgment of acquittal. (No site identified.)

(77) Green v. United States, 355 U.S. 184 (1957)—Defendant cannot, consistent with prohibition of double jeopardy, be convicted of first degree murder on retrial after his second degree murder conviction was set aside. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(3) SELF-INCRIMINATION

(78) Counselman v. Hitchcock, 142 U.S. 547 (1892)—The privilege against self-incrimination extends to testimony before a grand jury. (No site identified.)

(79) Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966)—Police interrogations of persons in custody cannot be carried out in the absence of warnings and advice to the person being questioned concerning his right to remain silent and to have counsel .

Sites:

(a) Ernesto Miranda House, Phoenix, Arizona.

(b) Police Station, Phoenix, Arizona.

Too recent to determine national significance. Should be reexamined in the future.

(4) DUE PROCESS

(80) Bolling v. Sharpe, 347 U.S. (1954)—Segregated schools in the District of Columbia are unconstitutional; the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment comprehends principles of equal protection. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(5) TAKING

(81) Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon, 260 U.S. 393 (1922)—Statute prohibiting mining coal so as to cause subsidence of neighboring improved property effects a taking for which compensation must be paid.

Site:

Mahon's house in Pennsylvania, Pittston Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. (Demolished.)

(82) Miller v. Scheone, 276 U.S. (1928)—Virginia may order ornamental red cedar trees destroyed to save apple orchards from cedar rust without compensating the owners of the cedar trees. (No site identified.)

(83) Berman v. Parker, 348 U.S. 26 (1954)—Government may take private land, with compensation, for development by other private parties. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

E. SIXTH AMENDMENT

(84) Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45 (1932)—Due process required the appointment of counsel in Alabama trial of indigent, friendless black youths for capital offense of rape.

Site: Jackson County Courthouse, Public Square, Scottsboro, Alabama—Located in a National Register historic district. (No integrity—the courtroom was demolished in 1954.)

(85) Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 358 (1938)—The Sixth Amendment requires the appointment of counsel for indigents in all federal cases. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(86) Gideon v. Wainright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963)—Counsel must be appointed for indigent defendants in all state felony cases.

Sites:

(a) Circuit Court for Bay County, Florida, 300 E. 4th Street, Panama City, Florida—The Bay County Circuit Court is the preferred site for this case because the constitutional issue involved, the right of indigent defendants to be represented by court-appointed public counsel, concerned the fairness of the trial for Clarence Earl Gideon in this court. The courthouse was renovated in 1982 destroying the integrity of the room where the Gideon trial occurred. The old courtroom was divided into two smaller courtrooms and the balcony was removed to make room for a new floor and office space. (No integrity.)

(b) Bay Harbor Pool Room, 109 E. Everitt Avenue, Panama City, Florida—The Bay Harbor Pool Room was the property that Gideon was accused of entering to steal money and wine. The Bay Harbor Pool Room is now abandoned and in ruins. (No integrity.)

(87) Irvin v. Dowd, 366 U.S. 717 (1964)—Prejudicial publicity deprived a criminal defendant of an impartial trial. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

F. SEVENTH AMENDMENT

(88) Minneapolis & St. Louis Ry. v. Bombolis, 241 U.S.

211 (1916)—The Seventh Amendment guarantee of jury in civil cases does not apply to the states. (No site identified.)

G. EIGHTH AMENDMENT

(89) Weems v. United States, 217 U.S. 349 (1910)—A penalty disproportionate to an offense—15 years incarceration at hard labor with chains on one's ankle, loss of all civil liberties, and perpetual surveillance for falsifying public records—is cruel and unusual punishment.

Site:

Office of Bureau of the Coast Guard and Transportation of the United States in the Philippines. (Unable to verify the existence of this property.)

(90) Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976)—Certain state statutes that provide for the death penalty are unconstitutional. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

H. PENUMBRAL MANIFESTATIONS

The theory that any important liberty not specifically safeguarded by the Bill of Rights can be found in the penumbra, or shadow, of a specific guarantee and thus be constitutionally protected as part of that guarantee.

(91) Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965)—A state statute prohibiting use of contraceptives is unconstitutional.

Site:

Planned Parenthood Center, Trumball Street, West Raven, Connecticut.

Too recent to determine national significance. Should be reexamined in the future.

(92) Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)—A state statute prohibiting abortion is unconstitutional.

Site:

Columbo's Pizza, Mockingbird Lane, Dallas, Texas—In 1969 Norma McCorvey (Jane Roe) met here with attorneys Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington and made the decision to fight the Texas abortion law.

Too recent to determine national significance. Should be reexamined in the future.

A. THE EARLY CASES

(93) Slaughter-House Cases, 16 Wallace 36 (1873)—The Fourteenth Amendment does not prohibit a state's authorizing a slaughterhouse monopoly.

Site:

Crescent City Live Stock & Slaughter House Company, New Orleans, Louisiana. (Unable to locate—probably no longer extant.)

(94) Civil Rights Cases, 109 U.S. 3 (1883)—The Civil War amendments do not reach private racial discrimination. (The sites associated with these cases are no longer extant.)

U.S. v. Stanley

Site:

Hotel in Topeka, Kansas. (Unable to locate—probably no longer extant.)

U.S. v. Ryan

Site:

Maguires Theater, San Francisco, California. (Demolished.)

U.S. v. Nichols

Site:

Nichols House in Jefferson City, Missouri. (Unable locate—probably no longer extant.)

U.S. v. Singleton

Robinson v. Memphis & Charleton Railroad Company

Site:

Memphis and Charleston Railroad Company. (Unable to identify any specific structure associated with the facts of this case.)

U.S. v. Hamilton

Site:

Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railroad. (Unable to identify any specific structure associated with the facts of this case.)

Site:

Grand Opera House, New York. (This building was demolished in 1960 and an apartment building was erected on the site.)

B. DUE PROCESS

(1) PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS

(95) Londoner v. Denver, 210 U.S. 373 (1908)—A hearing is required before land can be assessed a tax to pay for paving an abutting street. (No site identified.)

(96) Bi-Metallic Investment Co. v. State Bd. of Equalization, 239 U.S. 441

(1915)—No hearing is required before the adoption of an order increasing the valuation for tax purposes of all property in Denver. (No site identified.)

(97) Pennoyer v. Neff, 95 U.S. 714 (1878)—Due process requires notice and opportunity to participate before anyone's property or liberty interests may be impaired by a state tribunal. (No site identified.)

(98) Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963)—A prosecutor is bound to disclose exculpatory evidence to the defendant. (No site identified.)

(99) Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., 272 U.S. 365 (1926)—A comprehensive municipal zoning ordinance is consistent with due process.

Site:

(100) Lane v. Wilson, 307 U.S. 268 (1939)—Oklahoma's law perpetually disfranchising black voters who failed to register between April 30, 1916, and May 11, 1916, is ruled unconstitutional.

Site:

Boley Historic District, Boley, Oklahoma. (Existing National Historic Landmark.)

Oklahoma added the grandfather clause to its state constitution in 1910 to disfranchise the black voters of Boley and other black towns in the state.

(101) Terry v. Adams, 345 U.S. 461 (1953)—A private body sponsoring a pre-primary election may not prevent blacks from participating.

Site:

Jaybird Democratic Association, Jaybird Party, Fort Bend County, Texas. (Unable to locate.)

(102) Shelley v. Kraemer, 334 U.S. 1 (1948)—State courts may not be used to enforce a racially discriminatory contract. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(2) RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

(103) Strauder v. West Virginia, 100 U.S. 103 (1880)—Blacks may not be excluded from petit juries. (No site identified.)

(104) Ex parte Virginia, 100 U.S. 339 (1880)—Blacks may not be excluded from grand juries.

Site:

Pittsylvania County Courthouse, US Business Route 29, Chatham, Virginia. (Recommended for National Historic Landmark Designation.)

(105) Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896)—Separate transportation facilities for blacks and whites do not deny the equal protection of the law if they are equal.

Sites:

(a)East Louisiana Railway Station, New Orleans, Louisiana. (Demolished.)

(b)Plessy House, 244 1/2 N. Claiborne, New Orleans, Louisiana. (Demolished.)

(c)John Marshall Harlan House, 14th and Euclid Avenue, NW, Washington, DC—John Marshall Harlan wrote a famous dissent in this case. (Demolished.)

(106) Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944)—Wartime exclusion of citizens of Japanese descent from West Coast is sustained.

Site:

10800 Edes Avenue Oakland, California—Korematsu's house at time of expulsion order. (This property was demolished sometime in the 1950s.)

(107) Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 629 (1950)—Newly established state law school for blacks cannot be equal to an established law school and therefore a black denied admission to the established law school is denied equal protection of the law. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(108) Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)—Segregation of the races in public schools is unconstitutional.

Sites:

(a) Sumner Elementary School, 330 Western Avenue, Topeka, Kansas. (Recommended for designation.)

(b) Oliver Leon Brown House (father of Linda Brown), 511 W. First Street, Topeka, Kansas. (Demolished.)

(3) SEX DISCRIMINATION

(109) Reed v. Reed, 404 U.S. 471 (1971)—A statute preferring men over women to administer intestate estates is unconstitutional as a denial of equal protection. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(110) Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, 383 U.S. 663 (1966)—Voting instate elections may not constitutionally be conditioned on the payment of a poll tax. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(4) ELECTORAL DISTRICTING

(111) Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964)—Equal protection of the laws requires both houses of a bicameral state legislature to have districts equal in population.

Site:

Petitioners were residents of Jefferson County, Alabama. Possible site is the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. (Too recent to determine national significance. Should be reexamined in the future.)

(112) Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 (1964)—Constitution requires that congressional districts be equal in population. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(5) DISCRIMINATORY APPLICATION OF A STATUTE

(113) Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356 (1886)—A San Francisco ordinance banning laundries in wooden buildings applied only to Chinese denies equal protection and is unconstitutional.

Sites:

(a) Yick Wo's Laundry, 318 Dupont Street, San Francisco, California. (Demolished.)

(b) Police Judges Court No. 2, San Francisco, California. (Demolished.)

(6) ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

(114) Williamson v. Lee Optical Co., 348 U.S. 483 (1955)—Statute restricting opticians but not others in fitting eyeglasses does not deny equal protection. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

A. ELEVENTH AMENDMENT

(115) Hans v. Louisiana, 134 U.S. 1 (1890)—The Eleventh Amendment bars a suit in federal court by a citizen of a state against the state. (No site identified.)

A. FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT

(116) Gomillion v. Lightfoot, 364 U.S. 339 (1960)—Gerrymander of Tuskegee, Alabama, to eliminate black voters violated the Fifteenth Amendment. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(117) Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 5 Peters 1 (1831)—Chief Justice John Marshall holds that an Indian tribe was neither a state in the Union nor a foreign nation within the meaning of the Constitution and, therefore, could not maintain an action in the Federal Courts. Upholds Indians' right to their land until title is voluntarily given to United States by treaty.

(118) Worcester v. Georgia, 6 Peters 515 (1832)—John Marshall holds that the Cherokee nation was a distinct political community within which "the laws of Georgia can have no force. . . .

Both of these cases are represented by existing National Historic Landmarks.

Sites:

(a) New Echota, Gordon, Georgia—First national capital of the Cherokee Nation established in 1825. (Existing National Historic Landmark.)

(b) Ross (John) House, Lake Avenue and Spring Streets, Rossville, Georgia—Two-story square-timbered log house, home of the Cherokees' most prominent leader, a hero of the 1812 Creek War, and senior Cherokee leader during the Civil War. (Existing National Historic Landmark.)

(119) Prigg v. Pennsylvania, 16 Peters 539 (1842)—Court declares unconstitutional Pennsylvania personal liberty law designed to impose stringent requirements on persons claiming runaway slaves.

Site:

Court of quarter sessions, York County, Pennsylvania. (Unable to locate this site.)

(120) Dred Scott v. Sandford, 19 Howard 393 (1857)—Asserts positive constitutional right of Americans to take slave property into national territory.

Site:

The Old Courthouse, 11 North Fourth Street, St. Louis, Missouri—The Old Courthouse is now part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, Missouri. The Courthouse was built between 1839 and 1864 as a three-story, brick and stone Greek Revival structure, designed by several architects over the years, including Henry Singleton, William Twombly, George I. Barnett, Robert S. Mitchell, Thomas D. F. Lanham, and William Rumbold. The Courthouse has been altered several times, including a major restoration and remodeling completed in 1942. The Dred Scott case was tried in the courtroom on the ground floor of the west wing. This courtroom was obliterated in the 1860s during the final phase of the expansion of the building. The best description of the courtroom dates from an editorial in the St. Louis Daily People's Organ on January 25, 1843, which describes the room as a "spacious and gorgeously furnished room, with its fluted columns and massive railings around the bar—its costly masonry and lofty ceilings with cornice and center circle...." (No integrity.)

(121) Wabash, St. Louis, and Pacific Railway Co. v. Illinois, 118 U.S. 557 (1886)—Supreme Court struck down an Illinois law prohibiting long-short haul rate discrimination as an intrusion on the federal commerce power.

Sites:

(a) Wabash Railroad in Peoria, Illinois. (Unable to locate)

(b) Firm of Elder and McKinney in Peoria, Illinois. (Unable to locate)

(c) Firm of Bailey and Swannell in Gilman, Illinois. (Unable to locate)

The facts of this case involve the transportation of oil cake and corn on the Wabash Railroad from Peoria, Illinois, to New York State and Gilman, Illinois to New York City.

(122) United States v. Gettysburg Electric Railway Company, 160 U.S. 668 (1896)—Supreme Court affirms the constitutionality of acquiring private property for Gettysburg National Military Park and established the principle that the preservation of nationally important historic sites and buildings is a legitimate purpose of the government of the United States.

Site:

Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. (Unit of the National Park System.)

(123) Delima v. Bidwell, 182 U.S. 1 (1901); Downes v. Bidwell, 184 U.S. 244 (1⁹01)—Supreme Court held that the Constitution protected the inhabitants of colonial territories in their basic civil rights, but did not confer citizen ship on them.

Sites:

(a) Collector of Customs Office for the Port of New York.(b) D.A. De Lime & Company—probably located in New York City.(c) S.B. Downs & Company—probably in New York City. Unable to locate any of these sites—not meaningful to the facts of the case if found.

(124) Northern Securities Company et al. v. United States, 193 U.S 197 (1904)—First action under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act upheld by the Court. The decision of the Supreme Court in this case created a moral climate that permitted government to control the actions of business.

Sites:

(a) J.P. Morgan & Co. Building, 13 Wall Street, New York, New York—J.P.Morgan organized and directed the Northern Securities Company from this site. The original structure was demolished and the present structure was built in 1913.

(b) Hudson Trust Company Building, 80-84 Hudson Street (51 Newark Street), Hoboken, New Jersey—This was the site of headquarters office for the Northern Securities Company. The building is still extant and houses banks and offices. (Not meaningful to the facts of the case.)

(c) The Pierpont Morgan Library, 33 East 36th Street, New York, New York—J. Pierpont Morgan built this library in 1906 adjacent to his house on East 36th Street. The library was found to be nationally significant by the Secretary of the Interior's Advisory Board in 1966 in the theme of Commerce and Industry because of its association with Morgan. The Northern Securities Company Case is cited as contributing to the significance of this building.(Existing National Historic Landmark.)

(125) Galvan v. Press, 347 U.S. 522 (1954)—Large power of Congress over the removal of aliens sustained. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

(126) Afroyim v. Rusk, 387 U.S. 253 (1967)—Congress may not strip a citizen of his citizenship. (Too recent to determine national significance.)

Last Modified: Wed, Aug 30 2000 7:00:00 am PDT
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