| Trs. of Dartmouth Coll. v. Woodward | | Supreme Court of the United States | Decided February 2, 1819
| | Full case name: | Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward | | | Citations: | 17 U.S. 518; 4 L. Ed. 629 | | | | Prior history: | ERROR to the Superior Court of the State of New Hampshire | | | | | | Holding | | The charter granted by the British crown to the trustees of Dartmouth College, in New-Hampshire, in the year 1769, is a contract within the meaning of that clause of the constitution of the United States, (art. 1. s. 10.) which declares that no State shall make any law impairing the obligation of contracts. The charter was not dissolved by the revolution. | | Court membership | Chief Justice: John Marshall
Associate Justices: Bushrod Washington, William Johnson, Henry Brockholst Livingston, Thomas Todd, Gabriel Duvall, Joseph Story | | Case opinions | Majority by: Marshall
Concurrence by: Washington
Concurrence by: Story
Concurrence by: Johnson (for reasons stated by Marshall)
Concurrence by: Livingston (for reasons stated by Marshall, Washington, Story)
Dissent by: Duvall
| | Laws applied | | U.S. Const. Art. 1, Sec. 10 | Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 518 (1819), was an important United States Supreme Court case dealing with the application of the Contract Clause of the United States Constitution to private corporations. Image File history File links Seal_of_the_United_States_Supreme_Court. ...
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Gabriel Duval (1752 - 1844) was a U.S. jurist. ...
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Background
The landmark case Dartmouth v. William H. Woodward is not without precedent. Earlier in the first instance of the Court invalidating a state legislative act the Supreme Court had ruled in Fletcher v. Peck, 10 U.S. 87 (1810), that contracts, no matter how they were procured (in the case of Fletcher, a land contract had been illegally obtained), cannot be invalidated by state legislation. Thus, the court, though working in an early era, was treading on familiar ground when it handed down Dartmouth. Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas US Government Portal The Supreme Court of the United States (sometimes colloquially referred to by the...
Holding The Contracts Clause of the U.S. Constitution prohibited Georgia from voiding contracts for the transfer of land, even though they were secured through illegal bribery. ...
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Case In 1815, over thirty years after the conclusion of the American Revolution, the legislature of New Hampshire attempted to invalidate or alter Dartmouth's charter in order to reinstate the College's deposed president, effectively converting the school from a private to a public institution. The trustees of the College objected and sought to have the actions of the legislature declared unconstitutional. April 5-12: Mount Tambora explodes, changing climate. ...
John Trumbulls Declaration of Independence, showing the five-man committee in charge of drafting the Declaration in 1776 as it presents its work to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia The American Revolution refers to the period during the last half of the 18th century in which the Thirteen...
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Daniel Webster arguing Trustees of Dartmouth College v. ...
Painting by Robert Clayton Burns (1962) depicting Daniel Webster and the Dartmouth College Case. The trustees retained Dartmouth alumnus Daniel Webster, a New Hampshire native who would later become a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and Secretary of State under President Millard Fillmore. Webster argued the college's case against William H. Woodward, the state-approved secretary of the new board of trustees. Webster's speech in support of Dartmouth (which he described as "a small college," adding, "and yet there are those who love it") was so moving that it reportedly brought tears to Webster's eyes and apparently helped convince Chief Justice John Marshall. Image File history File links DanielWebster_DartmouthCollegeCase. ...
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Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852), was a leading American statesman during the nations antebellum era. ...
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Decision The decision, handed down on February 2, 1819, ruled in favor of the College and invalidated the act of the New Hampshire legislature, which in turn allowed Dartmouth to exist as a private institution and take back its buildings, seal, and charter. The majority opinion was, predictably, written by Marshall. The opinion reaffirmed Marshall's belief in the sanctity of a contract (also seen in Fletcher v. Peck). is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
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Dartmouth was not a popular decision at the time, and a public outcry ensued. Thomas Jefferson's earlier commiseration with New Hampshire Governor Plumer stated essentially that the earth belongs to the living. Popular opinion influenced some state courts and legislatures to declare that state governments had an absolute right to amend or repeal a corporate charter. Today opinion on Dartmouth remains mixed; for some[weasel words] it is viewed positively as one of the most important Supreme Court rulings, strengthening the Contract Clause and limiting the power of the States to interfere with private charters, including those of commercial enterprises; for others,[weasel words] it is viewed as a problematic extension of individual contract rights to artificial corporate entities. Thomas Jefferson (13 April 1743 N.S.–4 July 1826) was the third President of the United States (1801–09), the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of Republicanism in the United States. ...
A charter is a document bestowing certain rights on a town, city, university or institution. ...
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