Dartmouth College Case

US Supreme Court case (officially Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward) of 1819 dealing with the protection of private corporations from state intervention under contract law. After some dissension among the trustees of the college, the New Hampshire legislature revised Dartmouth's original corporate charter 1769, placing the administration under the control of a state-appointed board. The trustees sued the new secretary of the college, William H Woodward, for recovery of the official seal and documents. The Supreme Court voted 4 to 1 to uphold the original royal charter, ruling that corporations have contractual obligations and therefore are protected from impairment by states.