Date: 2003. ISBN-13: 9781584773375. ISBN-10: 1584773375. Shirley, John M. The Dartmouth College Causes and the Supreme Court of the United States. Originally published: Chicago: G.I. Jones, 1895. 469 pp. Reprinted 2003 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN-13: 9781584773375; ISBN-10: 1584773375. Hardcover. New. $28.95 * "It is, Sir, as I have said, a small college. And yet there are those who love it!" --Daniel Webster, Oral Argument, March 10, 1818, Dartmouth College v. Woodward Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1816-1819) established significant precedents concerning state authority and the nature of private enterprise. Dartmouth College was incorporated under a royal charter in 1769 as a private corporation. In 1816 the New Hampshire Legislature attempted to transform the college into a state institution. Daniel Webster, representing the college trustees, convinced the U.S. Supreme Court that the royal charter was a contract that could not be invalidated by subsequent state legislation. The court concurred. Its decision initiated a significant constitutional limitation on state authority. It also helped to define corporations as relatively unregulated private economic entities that contributed to the public sphere through enlightened self-interest. Shirley offers a vivid account of the case, enriched by extensive quotation of primary archival sources. Reprint of the first edition. "The complete history of the Dartmouth college case is very curious and deserves more than a ...