How the Constitution is read: judicial review, loose vs strict readings and settled cases

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Courts read the Constitution (cards A to E). Card A, Chief Justice John Marshall for the Supreme Court in McCulloch v. Maryland (March 7, 1819; spelling as printed): "Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited, but consist with the letter and spirit of the constitution, are constitutional." Card B, the same opinion: "… we must never forget that it is a constitution we are expounding." Card C, the same opinion: "An unlimited power to tax involves, necessarily, a power to destroy; because there is a limit beyond which no institution and no property can bear taxation." Card D, in our words from the opinion's statement of the case: Congress created the Second Bank of the United States in 1816. In 1818 Maryland passed a tax on banks that the state had not chartered, and the bank's Baltimore branch did not pay. Maryland, a sovereign state, denied that it had to obey the federal law that created the bank. The Court held that Congress could create the bank and that Maryland could not tax it. Card E, Chief Justice Marshall for the Court in Marbury v. Madison (1803): "It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is." In that case the Court found that part of a law of Congress, the Judiciary Act of 1789, conflicted with the Constitution and so could not be enforced.

2. 1.

   Which made-up law passes the test in card A, Ari asks?

   • A law banning newspapers that criticize Congress, to protect its work
   • A law taking over the schools of each state because education matters
   • A law ordering each town to hold a parade, since parades are good
   • A hospital for soldiers, to support the army Congress may raise
3. 2.

   In card B, Marshall says "it is a constitution we are expounding." What does that suggest about how to read it, Bo asks?

   • As a contract that just the original signers can interpret and enforce
   • As a criminal law, with each word read as narrowly as possible by the courts
   • As a framework of great powers, not a code listing every permitted act
   • As friendly advice that courts may ignore when they decide a case
4. 3.

   Card C says the power to tax can be a power to destroy. How does that help decide the case in card D, Esme asks?

   • Because states may tax anything, the bank should have paid the Maryland tax
   • Because Congress can tax the states, Maryland owed the bank, and its own tax was void
   • If states could tax the bank without limit, they could destroy a federal institution
   • Because the bank belonged to Maryland, its tax was fair, since a state taxes its own
5. 4.

   Card A is the Court's opinion in 1819. What is it best evidence for, Kira asks?

   • What the states thought of the bank, taken one by one
   • What Congress said when it created the bank
   • How the Court read the clause in this case
   • How banks worked in 1900
6. 5.

   Cards A and E are by the same Chief Justice. What do they share, Luz asks?

   • Both were decided in 1819, a year after Maryland passed its bank tax
   • Both say states may tax federal banks, as Maryland did when it taxed the bank
   • Both show the Court explaining what the Constitution allows in a real case
   • Both limit the Court to reading what Congress writes and doing nothing more
7. 6.

   Marbury v. Madison was decided in 1803 and McCulloch v. Maryland in 1819. How many years apart is that, Milo asks?

   • 6 years
   • 160 years
   • 16 years
   • 26 years
8. 7.

   Card D gives Maryland's position and the Court's. How did they differ, Pia asks?

   • Maryland said Congress could create the bank; the Court disagreed and closed the bank
   • Maryland sued the bank over the unpaid tax; the Court ordered the bank closed for good
   • Maryland and the Court agreed that states can tax any bank, including the federal one
   • Maryland said it did not have to obey the federal law; the Court said the bank law stood
9. 8.

   A student writes: "McCulloch ended all disputes about how broadly to read Congress's powers." How strong is that claim, Ren asks?

   • Weak: card A says the Court rejected broad readings of Congress's powers in 1819
   • Strong: card A says no one may disagree with the Court about the extent of Congress's powers
   • Overstated: the cards show one case settled between Maryland and the bank, not every later dispute
   • Strong: card D says each state agreed with the Court that Congress could create the bank
10. 9.

    In card E, Marshall says it is the courts' "province and duty" to "say what the law is." What job does that give courts, Tala asks?

    • Deciding what laws mean and whether they conflict with the Constitution
    • Writing new laws to replace the ones that conflict with the Constitution
    • Vetoing bills that Congress has passed, before they can become law
    • Ratifying amendments once Congress has proposed them to the states
11. 10.

    A student writes: "Marbury says courts can overrule any law they dislike." How strong is that claim, given card E, Zee asks?

    • Strong: card E says Congress approved the ruling, so courts may overrule what they dislike
    • Weak: card E says courts cannot review any law, not even one that conflicts with the Constitution
    • Strong: card E says courts may strike any law, so courts can overrule what they dislike
    • Weak: card E covers a law that conflicts with the Constitution, not one a judge dislikes