UNITED STATES HISTORY AND THE CONSTITUTION South Carolina Standard 1.7

Goals of this Standard Summarize the expansion of the power of the national government as a result of Supreme Court decisions under Chief Justice John Marshall, such as the establishment of judicial review in Marbury v. Madison and the impact of political party affiliation on the Court.

Supreme Court Since the writing of the Constitution, ideas about democracy have developed in the United States as a result of the decisions of the Supreme Court. The principals and ideas of the Constitution and the power of the national government were strengthened by the decisions of the Supreme Court under the leadership of Chief Justice John Marshall.

Marshall Court Decisions of the Marshall Court supported a strong federal government that was supreme over the states and reflected the interests of the Federalists. The First Congress established the court system [Judiciary Act of 1789] because the Constitution does not go into detail about how the judiciary system should be set up.

The Lasting Power of the President The first chief justices presided over a very weak court. Federalist John Marshall was appointed by Federalist President John Adams. The Marshall Court is an example that presidential power is felt long after the appointing administration is gone.

Politics and Confirmation Senate must confirm presidential appointments to the judiciary. Presidents most often appoint justices who hold political ideas similar to the president’s own and justices serve for ‘good behavior’. John Marshall served for over 30 years during which time the rulings of the court reflected Marshall’s support for a strong national government.

Checks and Balances This has been true throughout American history and continues to be true today. The ruling of the Marshall Court in Marbury v. Madison (1803) began the enduring precedent of judicial review as a vital part of the checks and balances system.

Midnight’ Judges Federalist William Marbury was appointed and confirmed as one of the ‘midnight’ judges. However his commission to a lower court had not been delivered before the Democratic Republicans took office and Secretary of State James Madison refused to deliver the commission.

Marbury vs Madison Marbury appealed to the Supreme Court for a court order [writ of mandamus] that would require Madison to deliver the commission. The court was authorized to issue such a writ by Congress. Marshall knew that if the court ordered the commission to be delivered to Marbury that the order would be ignored by Secretary of State Madison and the judicial branch would continue to be seen as powerless.

Limitations of the Supreme Court Reading the Constitution closely, Marshall realized that the document does not give the power to issue such a writ to the Supreme Court under its original jurisdiction. The court could only hear such a case on appeal. The Marshall court ruled that, although Marbury deserved his commission, the court could not order that it be delivered because Congress could not give a power to the Supreme Court which the Constitution did not authorize.

Judicial Review This was a landmark decision because it was the first time that the court claimed for itself the right of judicial review, the right to determine the constitutionality of an act of Congress.

Federal Laws Since the decision did not have to be enforced by the executive branch, the court could not be undermined by its Democratic- Republican rivals who now held the presidency. Jefferson and Madison had claimed the right to decide constitutionality of federal laws for the states in the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions and the decision in Marbury countered that claim.

Court asserted its role By denying itself the right to issue the writ, the Marshall Court claimed for itself a far greater role- to determine what is constitutional and what is not. The Court under John Marshall asserted its role as a vital third branch of government that supported the principles of the Federalist Party.

Marshall Court The Marshall Court continued to strengthen the role of the federal government. The Court ruled that only the federal government could control interstate commerce [Gibbons v Ogden]. The Court upheld the sanctity of contracts against encroached by state government [Dartmouth v Woodward].

National Bank The Court ruled that the state of Maryland could not inhibit the operations of the Bank of the United States by imposing a tax, thus upholding the right of the federal government to establish the national bank [McCulloch v Maryland].

More Court Rulings The Court denied the right of the state of Georgia to limit the rights of the individual in a case related to Indian reservations [Worcester v Georgia]. This vital but political role of the Court will be evident again in decisions made by the Court in Dred Scott v Sanford and others.  

Vocabulary Terms/Words Marbury v. Madison Dred Scott v Sanford Unconstitutional Article III John Marshall Supreme Court Gibbons v Ogden