Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge

Table of Contents

Overview

Context

About the Author

Explanation and Analysis of the Document

Impact

Document Text

https://doi.org/10.3735/9781935306870.book-part-008

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Abstract

The three leading cases decided during Chief Justice Roger Taney’s first term had all been argued while John Marshall was still serving as chief justice, and all would have been decided differently if Marshall had lived. (Marshall died in 1835; Taney was named chief justice in 1836.) Taney made certain all three were reargued and decided during his first month on the high bench—and he ensured that all three decisions bore his stamp. Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge was the most significant of these decisions and represented a clear departure from the Marshall tradition. The case was a contract dispute. Massachusetts had entered into a contract with the Charles River Bridge Company to build a bridge over the Charles River connecting Boston and Charlestown.