Rights and Privileges

• Author: Jack Fruchtman
• Profession: Professor of Political Science and Director of the Program in Law and American Civilization at Towson University, Maryland
• Pages: 84-93

American Constitutional History: A Brief Introduction, First Edition. Jack Fruchtman.

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Rights and Privileges

The first 10 amendments to the Constitution set forth an array of

rights and liberties guaranteed to the American people against intrusion

by the US government. A question after their collective ratification in

1791 was whether any of them applied to the states. Chief Justice John

Marshall decisively answered that question in 1833 when he ruled

onan action that John Barron brought against the city of Baltimore

and its city council. In 1815, the city began to improve the streets and

byways, which resulted in the diversion of many streams. When it rained,

sand and dirt poured into Baltimore’s harbor. Barron, who operated

alucrative wharf, could no longer service the needs of large cargo ships

as the sludge accumulated in the water around his wharf. He sued the

city and the city council on the grounds that he had been deprived

ofhis property without just compensation in violation of the takings

clause of the Fifth Amendment. The court awarded him $4500 in

compensation. The Maryland Court of Appeals overr uled that decision,

and the Supreme Court unanimously agreed.

In Barron v. Baltimore, Marshall asked Barron’s counsel to address

whether the framers originally understood that the Bill of Rights

applied to federal, state, and local governments or only to the federal

government. After hearing an unpersuasive claim, Marshall told the

attorneys from Baltimore that he did not need to hear their argument

and he summarily ruled against Barron. “We are of opinion, that the

provision in the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, declaring that