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==The Early Court==
[[File:Jay.jpg|thumb|Figure 1.John Jay was the first Chief Justice and heard the first case presented before the Court.]]
The Supreme Court opened its first session in February 1790 in New York City, the then capital of the United States. Later in 1790, it moved to Philadelphia, which also became the capital, where the court met in Independence Hall. Initially, the court was made up of six justices, where it was envisioned that a two-thirds majority would be needed for any decision. The court did not have a permanent nine members until 1869, when that number was established as precedent. The justices were given lifetime appointments because it was seen as a way to avoid them being influenced by a sitting president. The first case to be litigated before the court, <i>West v. Barnes</i>, involved procedural issues, in particular, the procedures of appeal. There were few major cases in the 1790s and the court lacked a permanent home. The first major case was <i>Chisholm v. Georgia</i>, which saw Chisholm sue the state of Georgia. The case influenced the 11th Amendment to the Constitution, which allowed individuals to sue states based on state consent (Figure 1).<ref>For more on the forming of the first Supreme Court, see: Casto, W. R. (2013). <i>The Supreme Court in the early republic: the chief justiceships of John Jay and Oliver Ellsworth</i>. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press.</ref>
Arguably the most impactful Supreme Court decision helped create the fault lines that became the Civil War. The <i>Dred Scott v. Sandford</i> in 1857 case, under Chief Justice Robert Taney, established that American citizenship was not to be given to black people, regardless if they were free or slave. Effectively this made all blacks not have citizenship rights. Ultimately the 14th Amendment overturned this decision. The <i>Dred Scott v. Sandford</i> case also influenced subsequent legislation in avoiding a similar case and what ultimately would become the concept of substantive due process, which protected the rights of individuals even if their rights were not explicit in the Constitution. This not only helped prevent a repeat of The <i>Dred Scott v Sandfor</i> case but it became established as legal precedent under the Chief Justice Waite and Fuller courts in the late 19th century through several cases.<ref>For more on the impact of the Dred Scott case, see: Fehrenbacher, D. E. (2001). <i>The Dred Scott Case: its significance in American law and politics</i>. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Pr. </ref>
==The Early 20th Century==
==The Cold War Court==
Earl Warren, Chief Justice from 1953-1969, led perhaps the most influential period that enhanced a series of civil liberties. One of the most famous cases was <i> Brown v. Board of Education</i> which began the long process of desegregation in public schools and influenced desegregation in general across the United States (Figure 2). Additionally, <i>Reynolds v. Sims </i> forced states to reapportion their legislatures according to changing populations. Thus, districts have to be somewhat equal as to how they apportioned representation. Previously, low population places could be used to influence the legislative process, which in the South had led to restrictive laws against African Americans. Also, the role of religion in schools was severely limited by the case of <i>Engel v. Vitale</i>. Another landmark case was <i>Gideon v. Wainwright</i>, which required, under the 6th Amendment, states appoint an attorney for defendants in criminal cases. The Miranda rights, which are given in cases where police casesdetain a suspect, were also a result of the <i>Miranda v. Arizona</i> case, another landmark that has greatly influenced the criminal justice system.<ref>For more on the Warren Court, see: Newton, J. (2014). <i>Justice for all: Earl Warren and the nation he made.</i> Penguin Publishing Grou. </ref>
The court, arguably, took a more conservative turn in the 1970s under the Burger court, that existed until 1986. Nevertheless, one of the most landmark cases, <i>Roe v. Wade</i> protected individuals' rights to abortion and prevented states from creating restrictive laws against abortion access and upheld affirmative action in <i>University of California v. Bakke</i>. Itstill remains one of the most polarizing decisions by the Supreme Court. The Court, however, struck down earlier cases that limited campaign finance in <i>Buckley v. Valeo</i>. The Rehnquist Court, from 1986-2005, generally upheld individual rights, such as <i>Lawrence v. Texas</i> that struck down Texas' sodomy law. The most controversial decision was its involvement in the 2000 election in <i> Bush v. Gore</i> that ended the recount of the election. The court, under Chief Justice John Roberts, is seen as generally being conservative, but key decisions such as <i>United States v. Windsor</i> led to the decision that part of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) legislation was unconstitutional and gay and lesbian couples cannot be discriminated on in relation to benefits and rights in cases where they are married.<ref>For more on Burger and the later courts, see: Greenhouse, L. (2012). <i>The U.S. Supreme Court: a very short introduction</i>. New York: Oxford University Press. </ref>
The main controversies today in the Supreme Court, interestingly, are not different from one of the first impeachments in the United States, which had to do with justice a Justice being perceived as being politically influenced. There are clear and well documents cases where judges Justices were not impartial, such as in the Dredd Scott case. However, the topic itself remains contentious and the recent appointment of Brett Kavanaugh and the process of his appointment process appointing support this. Nevertheless, repeatedly judges nominated by left-leaning or right-leaning presidents often do not follow their perceived political bent, perhaps indicating that the Court has at times maintained a level of independence as envisioned early in its history. <ref>For more on the partial leanings of the Court, see: Baum, L. (2017). <i>Ideology in the Supreme Court</i>. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.</ref>
[[File:59c82e99014f4.image.jpg|thumb|Figure 2. While segregation began its end with Brown v. Education, it also led to racial tensions.]]
==Summary==
The Supreme Court has had a major influence on the United States, often upholding or often reversing legislation passed by Congress. At times, the Court shaped events, including war and individual rights, and at other times they helped catalyzed social change, perhaps faster than it would have been otherwise, by enabling rights such as in <i>Brown v. Board of Education</i>. The Constitution left many ideas about the Court open and these have been continually interpreted and applied differently during the history of the United States.
==References==
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