Blog Post #2 (The Founding Era)

Background: The Supreme court of the United States, also known as SCOTUS, was created through the U.S. constitution and it essentially is the highest power in terms of laws for the United States. The supreme court currently has nine justices and their essential duty is to interpret the laws and work with the President and legislative branch of congress.

The U.S. Constitution

History: The supreme court all began in the year 1789 and it directly relates to the third article of the U.S. constitution. George Washington signed the judiciary act of 1789 which allowed six justices to serve the court until they died or retired. The justices were going to work in the Merchants Exchange building in New York City but they didn't because of transportation issues. For more than 100 years, the justices were required to hold circuit court twice a year.

President Washington

Supreme court justices: A supreme court justice is nominated by the president of the United States. The first court had the justices of Chief John Jay, John Rutledge, William Cushing, John Blair, Robert Harrison, and James Wilson. The chief justice is responsible for giving other justices assignments and they also decide who will write the court's opinion.

Chief Justice John Jay

Current Supreme Court Justices: As mentioned, there are nine supreme court justices. Although it began with 6 and the highest ever was 10 and the lowest ever was 5, the current number is nine. The total number of justices over the span of years to ever serve on the court is 115. The current serving members are chief John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagen, and Neil Gorsuch.

Current Justices 

Supreme Court Cases: Some of the most notable supreme court cases that have changed history for good or bad include the following.

Dred Scott V.S. Sandford 1857- This case was when the court denied citizenship to African American slaves.

Plessy V.S. Ferguson 1896- This case upheld state segregation laws.

Korematsu V.S. The United States 1944- This case upheld world war two internment camps for Japanese Americans. 

https://www.history.com/topics/us-government/supreme-court-facts