On this date in 1803 Marbury v. Madison was argued before the Supreme Court.
Marbury was the case that established the Supreme Court’s standing as the arbiter of The Constitution.
On this date in 1856 Dred Scott v. Sandford was argued before the Supreme Court.
Scott was the case where the Supreme Court ruled that persons of African descent could never be citizens of the United States whether free or slave and that the federal government had no constitutional authority to limit slavery in the territories.