AP U.S. Gov Landmark Supreme Court
Cases Exam Questions & Answers
(Grade A+)
Marbury v. Madison (1803) -
correct answer ✅Established the power of judicial review in
finding that a congressional statute extending the Court's original
jurisdiction was unconstitutional (Marshall Court)
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) -
correct answer ✅Allowed Congress to establish a national bank via
implied powers from the "necessary and proper clause" and
stopped Maryland from taxing the national bank as violation of
Supremacy Clause (Marshall Court)
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) -
correct answer ✅Ferry boat case; only Congress is granted the
power to regulate interstate commerce by the Commerce Clause of
the Constitution (Marshall Court)
Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) -
correct answer ✅Ruled slaves were not citizens under the
Constitution; struck down Missouri Compromise (Taney Court)
Reynolds v. United States (1879) -
correct answer ✅Upheld federal ban on polygamy because it is not
, AP U.S. Gov Landmark Supreme Court
Cases Exam Questions & Answers
(Grade A+)
protected by the free exercise clause; government can punish
criminal activity without regard to religious belief (Waite Court)
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) -
correct answer ✅Upheld state-imposed racial segregation;
"separate but equal" doctrine (Fuller Court)
Schenck v. United States (1919) -
correct answer ✅Upheld the Espionage Act; declared that 1st
Amendment right to freedom of speech was not absolute; free
speech could be limited if its exercise presented a "clear and
present danger" (White Court)
Gitlow v. New York (1925) -
correct answer ✅Court recognized some limits on free speech, and
established the selective incorporation of the Bill of rights (a.k.a.
incorporation doctrine) through the 14th amendment; Bill of Rights
can limit the states as well as the federal government (Taft Court)
West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnett (1943) -
correct answer ✅Ruled public school children (Jehovah's
Cases Exam Questions & Answers
(Grade A+)
Marbury v. Madison (1803) -
correct answer ✅Established the power of judicial review in
finding that a congressional statute extending the Court's original
jurisdiction was unconstitutional (Marshall Court)
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) -
correct answer ✅Allowed Congress to establish a national bank via
implied powers from the "necessary and proper clause" and
stopped Maryland from taxing the national bank as violation of
Supremacy Clause (Marshall Court)
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) -
correct answer ✅Ferry boat case; only Congress is granted the
power to regulate interstate commerce by the Commerce Clause of
the Constitution (Marshall Court)
Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) -
correct answer ✅Ruled slaves were not citizens under the
Constitution; struck down Missouri Compromise (Taney Court)
Reynolds v. United States (1879) -
correct answer ✅Upheld federal ban on polygamy because it is not
, AP U.S. Gov Landmark Supreme Court
Cases Exam Questions & Answers
(Grade A+)
protected by the free exercise clause; government can punish
criminal activity without regard to religious belief (Waite Court)
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) -
correct answer ✅Upheld state-imposed racial segregation;
"separate but equal" doctrine (Fuller Court)
Schenck v. United States (1919) -
correct answer ✅Upheld the Espionage Act; declared that 1st
Amendment right to freedom of speech was not absolute; free
speech could be limited if its exercise presented a "clear and
present danger" (White Court)
Gitlow v. New York (1925) -
correct answer ✅Court recognized some limits on free speech, and
established the selective incorporation of the Bill of rights (a.k.a.
incorporation doctrine) through the 14th amendment; Bill of Rights
can limit the states as well as the federal government (Taft Court)
West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnett (1943) -
correct answer ✅Ruled public school children (Jehovah's
