The US Supreme Court was founded in two steps. The Constitution created it in 1787 when Article III vested the nation’s judicial power in “one supreme Court,” and Congress brought that court to life with the Judiciary Act of 1789, signed on September 24 of that year.1govinfo. 1 Stat. 73 – An Act to Establish the Judicial Courts of the United States The Court itself first convened on February 2, 1790, in New York City, with a chief justice and five associate justices on the bench.
Article III Planted the Seed in 1787
The framers devoted a single sentence to creating a national judiciary. Article III, Section 1 declares that “the judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.”2Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Article III That language did two things. It guaranteed that a supreme court would exist, and it left Congress free to build out the rest of the federal system later.
What Article III left out matters just as much. The Constitution says nothing about how many justices should sit, what qualifications they need, or how the Court should run. It still sets no age, education, or citizenship requirement for a justice.3Supreme Court of the United States. Frequently Asked Questions – General Information The framers did lock in one protection: federal judges hold their offices “during good Behaviour,” meaning for life unless they resign, retire, or are impeached.2Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Article III That life tenure was meant to insulate the judiciary from political pressure.
The Judiciary Act of 1789 Built the Court Congress Needed
A constitutional sentence cannot staff a courtroom. Congress had to fill in everything Article III left open, and it did so with the Judiciary Act of 1789. Signed by President Washington on September 24, 1789, the act set the Court’s initial size at one chief justice and five associate justices, with any four forming a quorum.1govinfo. 1 Stat. 73 – An Act to Establish the Judicial Courts of the United States It also divided the country into judicial districts and grouped them into three regional circuits.
The act defined what cases the Court could hear. It granted original jurisdiction over disputes involving states and foreign diplomats, and appellate jurisdiction over cases coming up from the lower federal courts. It also saddled the justices with circuit riding: twice a year, each justice had to travel to an assigned circuit and preside over cases alongside local district judges.1govinfo. 1 Stat. 73 – An Act to Establish the Judicial Courts of the United States Roads were primitive, distances were long, and complaints began almost immediately. The same legislation also created the Office of the Attorney General as a part-time position to represent the federal government’s legal interests.4United States Department of Justice. Office of the Attorney General
Washington’s Six Nominees
On the same day he signed the Judiciary Act, President Washington nominated all six justices, and the Senate confirmed them two days later.5United States Senate. About Nominations John Jay of New York became the first Chief Justice. The five associate justices were James Wilson of Pennsylvania, John Rutledge of South Carolina, William Cushing of Massachusetts, Robert Harrison of Maryland, and John Blair of Virginia.6United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. The History of the Supreme Court of the United States
Washington picked men from different states to give the new institution geographic legitimacy, and each had shown commitment to the constitutional order. Harrison declined the appointment, so Washington nominated James Iredell of North Carolina in his place, and the Senate confirmed him in 1790.7Congress.gov. Supreme Court Nominations, 1789 to 2022 – Actions by the Senate Iredell was not sworn in until May, so the Court operated below its full strength through its entire first term.
The First Session on February 2, 1790
The Court was scheduled to open on February 1, 1790, in the building known as the Exchange in New York City, which was then serving as the nation’s capital.8Federal Judicial Center. Supreme Court Meeting Places Only three justices made it to town that day, one short of a quorum, so Chief Justice Jay pushed the opening to the following morning.9Supreme Court of the United States. The Court as an Institution
When the Court finally convened on February 2, the day was quiet. No landmark disputes were waiting. The justices worked through housekeeping: admitting attorneys to the bar, appointing a clerk, and setting basic procedural rules.10Supreme Court of the United States. Meeting Sites of the Court The Court’s first actual case, West v. Barnes, did not arrive until 1791, and it turned on a procedural question about whether a writ of error had been properly issued. The Court’s early workload was so light that some justices treated the position as secondary to their circuit duties.
Why Six Justices Instead of Nine
The original six-seat bench was never meant to be fixed. Because the Constitution leaves the Court’s size to Congress, the number has shifted with the politics of the moment. In 1801, Congress briefly reduced the Court to five seats to deny incoming President Thomas Jefferson a vacancy to fill, and repealed the law the next year before any seat was actually lost. During the Civil War era, Congress expanded the bench to as many as ten, then shrank it to seven in 1866 to keep President Andrew Johnson from making appointments.11Congress.gov. Court Packing – Legislative Control over the Size of the Supreme Court
The number settled at nine in 1869 and has not moved since. Current federal law states that “the Supreme Court of the United States shall consist of a Chief Justice of the United States and eight associate justices, any six of whom shall constitute a quorum.”12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1 – Number of Justices and Quorum So the Court as the founders launched it in 1790 and the Court that sits today share the same constitutional foundation, the same organizing statute, and the same life-tenured independence, but not the same number of seats on the bench.