Landmark Decisions That Changed the Nation’s Course
The Supreme Court has played a major role in determining the course of American history with its landmark decisions related to the U.S. Constitution. The Court’s decisions have had a major impact on states’ rights, presidential power, and individual rights. Moreover, the Court’s interpretation of rights under the Constitution changes over time. Such decisions as Dred Scott v. Sandford in 1854 declaring that Black Americans could never be American citizens, and Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 upholding “separate but equal” are just two examples of decisions that reflected the era in which they were made. This presentation looks at some of the Supreme Court’s more significant decisions in American history and discusses the two ways to view the U.S. Constitution: originalism or living constitution.