The Documentary History of the Supreme Court of the United States ― Cases : 1796-1797

The Documentary History of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1789-1800 is a multivolume series drawing together a body of documents, from the National Archives and dozens of other repositories, that chronicles the life of the Court in its first decade. For any scholar interested in the development of the federal judicial system, this series stands as a crucial resource.

The present volume deals with suits the Supreme Court decided in 1796 and 1797, including such landmark constitutional cases asWare v. Hylton, Hylton v. United States, and Olney v. Arnold/Olney v. Dexter. In these years the Court laid the foundation for its authority to exercise judicial review, and for the first time the justices overturned the decision of a state's highest court. Two attorneys who appeared before the Court in this period were Alexander Hamilton and John Marshall. Introductory narratives and extensive annotation provide context for the wealth of documents included in this volume. Taken from official court records, as well as related correspondence, lawyers' notes, justices' notes and opinions, newspaper commentary, and pamphlets, these documents provide critical material with which to assess the inception of federal court practice and procedure.

Acclaim for the series

"A model of modern scholarly editing."-- The Journal of American History

"[The series] is striking and remarkable for its quantity and quality of sources and its annotations."--Choice

"An outstanding contribution to scholarship."-- Constitutional Commentary

Other volumes available in The Documentary History of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1789-1800 series:

Volume I: Appointments and Proceedings (Part 1), 0-231-08867-1; Commentaries on Appointments and Proceedings (Part 2), Co-edited by James R. Perry, 0-231-04552-2; Volume II:The Justices on Circuit, 1790-1794, 0-231-08869-8; Volume III: The Justices on Circuit, 1795-1800, 0-231-08870-1 ; Volume IV:Organizing the Federal Judiciary: Legislation and Commentaries, 0-231-08871-X; Volume V:Suits Against States, 0-231-08872-8; Volume VI: Cases: 1790-1795, 0-231-08873-6

Maeva Marcus is director of the Documentary History of the Supreme Court of the United States and author ofTruman and the Steel Seizure Case, first published by Columbia University Press and now reprinted by Duke University Press.