Monday, November 12, 2012

Dartmouth v. Woodward

In 1769 the King George III of England granted a charter to Dartmouth College. This document spelled out the purpose of the school, set up the structure to govern it, and gave land to the college. The state legislature of New Hampshire passed laws that revised the charter in 1816. These laws changed the school from private to public. They changed the duties of the trustees and how the trustees were selected.
The trustees filed a suit against the legislature. The trustees claimed that the legislature violated the Constitution. They argued that Article 1, Section 10, of the Constitution prevented a state from canceling a contract. The Court agreed with Dartmouth and it continued as a private college. Chief Justice Marshall said that the charter was a contract between the King and the trustees, and even though we were no longer a royal colony, the contract is still valid because the Constitution says that a state cannot pass laws to impair a contract.
This case was important because we know that the constitution does not allow a legislature to change the charter of a school, or anything for that matter, that is under a contract. Because of this we know what is protected by the "contract" clause of the Constitution.

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