Beyond the Bench

A 225-Year Legacy

Welcome to the Supreme Court Historical Society's CIVICS website which houses free, downloadable curriculum resources for educators, students, and life-long learners. Learn about the history and cases of the Supreme Court of the United States by historical era and gain insights into key figures associated with the Court. New eras will be launched each year.

Customize Your Search For Resources

  • Affirming Judicial Independence

    1801-1835

  • Incorporating Rights

    1953-1969

Submit
Or
  • Advocate
  • Circuit
  • Fourteenth Amendment
  • John Marshall
  • Landmark Case
  • Selective Incorporation
  • Women
Ex: John Marshall, Roe v. Wade, Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Or
  • Civil Rights
  • Judicial Review
  • Rule of Law
  • Separation of Powers
  • Voting
Ex: Civil Rights, Voting, Free Speech

Travel Through Supreme Court History

Discover historical eras, cases, people, and other resources.

1801
The Supreme Court affirmed the legitimacy of the Bank of the United States (depicted here as a large woman vomiting coins to state banks) when Maryland mounted a challenge in 1819. Library of Congress
1801–1835

Affirming Judicial Independence

Explore the Era
The Supreme Court affirmed the legitimacy of the Bank of the United States (depicted here as a large woman vomiting coins to state banks) when Maryland mounted a challenge in 1819. Library of Congress

Through a series of landmark decisions, the Justices of the Marshall Court affirmed the judicial independence of the federal courts, the authority of the Supreme Court, and ensured that the Judicial Branch was an equal branch of the federal government.

Yes
1810

Fletcher v. Peck

The first time the Supreme Court declared a state law unconstitutional and a formative decision interpreting the Commerce Clause.
1831

The Cherokee Nation Cases

The lawsuits that forced the examination of the relationship between law and politics, particularly with respect to the Supreme Court’s ability to enforce its judgment during the early years of the Republic.
Yes
1833 View More Cases

Barron v. Baltimore

John Marshall’s last opinion which addressed the existing parameters of federalism in relation to the states.

The longest-serving Chief Justice in U.S. history, John is greatly admired for his allegiance to the United States. He is revered for expertly guiding legal institutions to protect the United States as it grew and developed into a successful republic.

Riding the Circuit

The rather challenging additional responsibility held by Supreme Court Justices until the early 1900s.

The Role of Supreme Court Wives
1803
Louisiana Territory is purchased from France for $15 million
1812
War of 1812 begins as U.S. declares war on Great Britain
1820
The Missouri Compromise was passed by Congress
1828
Andrew Jackson is elected President of the United States
1953
1953–1969

Incorporating Rights

Explore the Era

During the 1950s and 1960s, Supreme Court decisions addressed issues involving individual rights in the civil rights movement, the apportionment of voting, police procedures, and the scope of state power in areas such as birth control and school prayer.

Yes
1956

Browder v. Gayle

The Supreme Court’s affirmation of a district court decision to outlaw segregated bussing in Montgomery, Alabama that overturned Plessy v. Ferguson
Yes
1962

Baker v. Carr

The landmark case that declared unequal representation in legislative districts to be unconstitutional and that the courts have jurisdiction over questions of legislative apportionment
Yes
1965 View More Cases

Griswold v. Connecticut

The first Supreme Court case linking reproduction to the right to privacy

Earl Warren was an accomplished attorney general and California governor who led the Supreme Court as Chief Justice during a 16-year-period of many Constitutional decisions protecting individual rights.

Brown as the Beginning

The landmark Supreme Court decision that declared public school segregation unconstitutional and led to wider civil rights victories in the 1960s.

Women in Law: 1953-1969

How a small but growing number of women pursued law careers and advocated before the Supreme Court during the 1950s and 1960s

1956
The interstate highway system is created
1960
The sit-in movement begins at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina
1963
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gives "I Have a Dream Speech" at the March on Washington
1968
The Viet Cong launch the Tet Offensive, attacking over 100 cities across South Vietnam.