The Supreme Court

 After watching the video and article regarding the history of the Supreme Court I learned a few new things that I did not know before. I learned that the court was established in 1789 by Article Three of the Constitution. Furthermore, I also learned that the court had its first meeting on February 2, 1790, but it did not actually hear any cases till after its first term. The court’s early meetings were mainly focused on working out organizational procedures. When regarding certain cases in the Supreme Court I learned that the court denied citizenship to African American slaves in 1857 during Dred Scott v. Sandford, upheld state segregation laws in 1896 through Plessy v. Ferguson, and upheld World War II internment camps for Japanese Americans in 1944 during Korematsu v. United States. 

Personally, I believe the most important take-away point about the Supreme Court is that the highest judicial officer in the nation, the chief justice is responsible for presiding over the Supreme Court. Not only do they oversee the rest of the justices they must also set the agenda for the justices’ weekly meetings. When there are cases where the chief justice happens to be a member of the majority opinion, the justice then has the authority to assign who will write the court’s opinion. Furthermore, the chief justice also presides over impeachment trails regarding the President of the United States.

The most surprising thing I learned in the article was that for more than 100 years after the foundation of the Supreme Court the justices were required to hold circuit court twice a year. However, due to the traveling methods at the time and distances this was formally abolished in 1891 by Congress. I found this to be interesting because it demonstrated the commitment a justice especially at the time would need to have.

After watching the video and reading the article I believe I have become more educated about the Supreme Court. Before diving into these sources I really had no knowledge of the history behind the Supreme Court or how the justices operated in detail. I now have a more in depth understanding of the Supreme Court and it's importance in our federal government.