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The Charles River Bridge Case

The Charles River Bridge CaseIn 1835, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Marshall died. Since Marshall had served as Chief Justice for over 30 years and had done much to shape the Judiciary, no one quite knew what to expect when President Andrew Jackson appointed Roger B. Taney to replace him. (Henretta 327) Americans would soon find that Taney would not imitate Marshall’s pro-Federalist decisions. In 1837, the landmark case of Charles River Bridge Co. v. Warren Bridge Co. was decided by the Supreme Court. In 1785, the Massachusetts legislature had chartered the Charles River Bridge Company to construct a bridge connecting Charlestown to Boston. (Ariens 1) When the legislature allowed a group of merchants from Charlestown to build the Warren Bridge connecting the same areas, the owners of the Charles River Bridge sued to halt its construction. In a reversal of the Marshall Court’s tendency to support the sanctity of contracts and property, Taney ruled in favor of the defendants by maintaining that the Massachusetts legislature retained the power to charter a competing bridge company. (Bailey 253)
The Charles River Bridge Case was groundbreaking in several ways. In his decision, Taney stated that, “While the rights of private property are sacredly guarded, we must not forget that the community also has rights.” (Henretta 327) This appeal to the public exemplified the democratic spirit of the Jacksonian period and the demise of the Hamiltonian protection of individual and corporate wealth characteristic of the Marshall court. In the wake of the case, competitive enterprise grew and charters for railroads to compete with canals and turnpikes proliferated. The decision also reflected Taney’s animosity toward Hamiltonian monopolies like the Bank of the United States and foreshadowed his preference for states rights over federal power. (“Taney” 24)

Works Cited

Ariens, Michael. “Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge.” michaelariens.com.29 October 2004 <http://michaelariens.com/ConLaw/cases/charlesriver.htm>

Bailey, Thomas A., and David M. Kennedy. The American Spirit. New York:Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998.

Henretta, James A., David Brody, and Lynn Dumeil. America: A Concise History. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2002.

“Taney, Roger Brooke.” The Worldbook Encyclopedia. 2004.