Dismantling an Outdated and Inapplicable Precedent:
Corporate Personhood
Abstract:
In 1886, the Supreme Court case Santa Clara County Vs. Southern Pacific Railroad Co. ruled that corporations are individuals under the eyes of the law, and are therefore provided with equal protection of the law and accompanying individual rights by the 14th amendment. This legal precedent has persisted to this day, 134 years later, and continues to influence our lives in matters such as the “Citizens United V. FEC” court case decision. My argument is that if you track the progression of the American Economy over the 19th Century, 20th Century, and 21st Century, there has been an inconceivable amount of change. Then, if you trace notions of “personhood” throughout the same three Century time span, there has been even more evolution and change. Why, then, has the precedent not been deemed outdated and inapplicable to 21st Century America 134 years later, and revisited at the very least, if not overturned?