Supreme Court - HISTORY Reflection

The Supreme Court is arguably the most important group in our government. They are the epitome of what checks and balances are. The power to deem something constitutional or unconstitutional is vital for the stability of our country. I chose to read the History article, and it informed me about the basic inner workings of the Supreme Court and its importance of it to our great Country.

After reading the article I learned a lot that I hadn't previously known about the Supreme Court. Like when it was established, I didn't necessarily have a set date that I thought it originated, but it was not 1789. I truly wasn't aware that George Washington was the President to put it into place, with Chief Justice John Jay at the helm of it all. I was also unaware of the fact that the number of justices fluctuated so much, between five and ten six times, and a total of 115 justices have been on the court throughout its history. 

One key takeaway from the Supreme Court is its power to interpret and declare something either on the Federal or State level constitutional or unconstitutional. In that, it serves as a key component of the checks and balances we have here in the USA. 

The most surprising thing that I learned was that the article mentioned that William Howard Taft served both as President and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The world needs more people like Taft, in that he had the courage to serve this country with dignity and honor through the two most powerful positions that this country's government has. 

The article didn't really change the way I thought about the Supreme Court, but more along the lines of strengthened my current opinions about it. I always thought it was the most important part of our government and reading this article only made that even more clear to me.