Dartmouth College v. Woodward

Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward
Supreme Court of the United States
Decided February 2, 1819
Full case name	Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward
Citations	17 U.S. 518 (more) 4 Wheat. 518; 4 L. Ed. 629
Case history
Prior	Error to the New Hampshire Superior Court
Holding
The charter granted by the British crown to the trustees of Dartmouth College, in New-Hampshire, in the year 1769, is a contract within the meaning of that clause of the constitution of the United States, (art. 1. s. 10.) which declares that no State shall make any law impairing the obligation of contracts. The charter was not dissolved by the revolution.
Court membership
Chief Justice John Marshall Associate Justices Bushrod Washington · William Johnson H. Brockholst Livingston · Thomas Todd Gabriel Duvall · Joseph Story
Case opinions
Majority	Marshall, joined by Johnson, Livingston
Concurrence	Washington, joined by Livingston
Concurrence	Story, joined by Livingston
Dissent	Duvall
Todd took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
U.S. Const. Art. 1, Sec. 10

Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 518 (1819), was a landmark decision in United States corporate law from the United States Supreme Court dealing with the application of the Contracts Clause of the United States Constitution to private corporations. The case arose when the president of Dartmouth College was deposed by its trustees, leading to the New Hampshire legislature attempting to force the college to become a public institution and thereby place the ability to appoint trustees in the hands of the governor of New Hampshire. The Supreme Court upheld the sanctity of the original charter of the college, which predated the creation of the State.^[1]

The decision settled the nature of public versus private charters and resulted in the rise of the American business corporation and the American free enterprise system.^[2]