Supreme Court of the United States

Creation Date

1787

Entity Type

Organization

Final court of appeals for the Constitution of the United States. Appellate body vested with the authority to act in cases arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States; in controversies to which the United States is a party; in disputes between states or between citizens of different states; and in cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction. Created in 1787, formally established in 1789. At the beginning the Civil War, it contained nine justices, but increased to ten justices in 1863. Civil War-era Justices: John McLean (1830-1861); James M. Wayne (1835-1867); Roger Brooke Taney (1836-64); John Catron (1837-1865); Peter V. Daniel (1842-1860); Robert C. Grier (1846-1870); John Archibald Campbell (1853-1861); Nathan Clifford (1858-1881); Noah H. Swayne (1862-1881); Samuel Freeman Miller (1862-1890); David Davis (1862-1877); Stephen Johnson Field (1863-1897); Salmon P. Chase (1864-1873). Civil War era Chief Justice(s): Roger B. Taney (1836-1864), Salmon P. Chase (1864-1873).

Brian P. Smentkowski, "Supreme Court of the United States," Encylopaedia Brittanica, (accessed online January 14, 2020).

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