Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward

From dKosopedia

Category: Supreme Court decisions

In 1816, the governor of New Hampshire, William Plumer, encouraged the state legislature to enact laws that would take control of the Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College from its then-largely Federalist members by adding a number of state-appointed (Republican) members and establishing a state veto over Board decisions.

Daniel Webster successfully argued for Dartmouth in the United States Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that Dartmouth's charter was a contract and that the New Hampshire legislature's amendment without Board consent was a violation of the Contract Clause of the U.S. Constitution. This judgment is considered an important historical decision as it limits the control a government may have over a corporate charter.