“A constitution, from its nature, deals in generals, not in detail. Its framers cannot perceive minute distinctions which arise in the progress of the nation, and therefore confine it to the establishment of broad and general principles.”
THE BANK OF THE UNITED STATES v. DEVEAUX ET AL. March 15, 1809.
This is one of first cases which give corporations rights – in this case the right like citizens to be able to sue in Federal Court, if the corporation meets the “diversity jurisdiction,” which referred to the fact that individuals could sue in Federal Court if they came from different (“diverse”) states. This is a good reminder of the view in the Supreme Court that the founders did not and could not create a constitution for all future eventualities.
