Madison Vs. Marbury: The Supreme Court's History

In the year 1803 the case of Marbury v. Madison was brought before the Supreme Court in order to address the issue of William Marbury’s appointment as federal circuit judge. This created a unique and complex challenge for the Supreme Court of the time because they were operating under no legal precedent, which meant that they had no prior cases to reference to reach a ruling. The issue came to a head after the Judiciary Act of 1801 allowed for President John Adams to appoint sixteen new circuit judges one of them being William Marbury. However, before Secretary of State Marshall ran out of time before he was able to deliver Marbury’s appointment. When the new Secretary of State James Madison entered office, he refused to deliver Marbury’s appointment, claiming that it was too late. Outraged, Marbury filed a writ of mandamus against Madison in order to force him to complete the specified action, which in this case was to deliver the commission. However, through complex political maneuvering the Judiciary Act of 1802, was enacted which repealed the Judiciary Act of 1801 reestablishing the Judiciary Act of 1789 and postponing the case until 1803. One of the key issues in the case was then if William Marbury was entitled to a remedy for the deprivation of his right to his commission. Chief Justice John Marshall with a narrow and technical ruling then determined that since President Adams with his signature had completed Marbury’s commission of appointment he was entitled to the

In the court case of Marbury v Madison from 1803, it is apparent that justice does not prevail. This case was brought to court because William Marbury was denied his rightful spot to a justice of the peace position in the District of Colombia. This spot and commissions were signed by the authority figure, President Adams and sealed by the acting Secretary of State at the time, John Marshall. Although both of these actions were taken, the signatures were not delivered before the expiration of Adams’s term as president.

The Decisions made to buy the Louisiana Purchase were tough; however, in the end the Louisiana Purchase was the most important land purchase in American history. In 1803 the United States had seventeen states along with the Northwest Territory. America still had not reached its potential growth, even though the states were still growing with settlers, until after the Louisiana Purchase. The president at this time was Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson’s decision would soon be the birth of our nation, as well as be the largest land purchase in American history.

At the commencement of the 17th century, successions of westward expansion had already begun to take place. In 1803, Thomas Jefferson, who was president at the time, purchased the Louisiana territory from France. Several citizens did support Jefferson’s purchase in virtue of the many

Throughout history, many cases have gone beyond local courts and have reached Supreme Court. One of the most famous cases to reach Supreme Court is Marbury v. Madison. Marbury v. Madison was a case that was fought because James Madison refused to deliver Marbury’s commission. In return, Marbury had petitioned for a writ of mandamus in order to receive his commissions. The Supreme Court had reinforced the “Marbury” decision in many cases, for example McCulloch v. Maryland, Cohens v. Virginia, and United States v. Le Baron.

The Louisiana Purchase was a “land deal” made between France and the U.S. in December of 1803, where France sold America 828,000 miles of land along the west side of the Mississippi River for 15 million dollars (approximately 4 cents per acre). People regard it as Thomas Jefferson’s greatest achievement because of how drastically it changed the United States. The purchase greatly expanded America and brought many other benefits along with it. Although it was definitely a major benefit to the United States, even Jefferson had his doubts about the purchase. But despite their many doubts, the U.S. made the decision to ratify the purchase, and because of that decision, America has changed for the better.

New Orleans was a key port on the Mississippi that gave the possessor a substantial amount of power in that area. France would gain critical access to the Mississippi River and have the ability to travel about it and maybe take land along the way. Possession of New Orleans would also give it access to western land, which is something America was after. America would

The Louisiana Purchase, was a purchase made between Thomas Jefferson and Napoleon Bonaparte for the middle section of the of modern day U.S. This section was originally owned by the French who sold it to Spain who made an alliance with France and gave it back. France, financially struggling, with british fleets headed towards the border, decided to sell approximately 530,000,000 acres of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million( about 4 cents an acre).

The parties are William Marbury and James Madison. William Marbury was commissioned by president Adams as Justice of the Peace, along with many others, on the last day of office. The commission had to be delivered to William Marbury on the same day by John Marshall, the Secretary of State, but that did not happen. The following day Thomas Jefferson, who was from the opposing party, became president and he appointed a new Secretary of State, James Madison. President Jefferson declared the commissions void and they were not delivered to the persons in question including William Marbury, who therefore was not appointed Justice of the Peace as he was promised. William Marbury went to the Supreme Court to ask for a writ of mandamus in order to force the new Secretary of State, James Madison, to deliver the commissions. On 24 February 1803 Chief Justice John Marshall, former Secretary of State during president Adams’ term of office, wrote the Court’s decision.

France want to sell all this land? For one, there was a civil war in the Island of Haiti.

In order to provide the citizens of the United States with enough land, Thomas Jefferson purchased Louisiana. Known as the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the United States was able to acquire about 827,000 sq. miles

The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 was one of the greatest achievements of Thomas Jefferson’s presidency. This purchase almost doubled the size of the United States territory. The area of land was purchased from France, which removed the potential threat of France being an enemy with control of New Orleans.

As a Federalist, Adams tried to remain Federalists in the government offices in order for Federalists to take advantages of political issues. Judiciary Act of 1801 is one of the Adams last struggles during his administration. He appointed Federalists judges which came to be known as the midnight judges and tried to keep them in the Court (The American Pageant, Pg.218). Therefore, in the case of a trial between the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans, the Federalists were able to stand over the Republicans. However, the establishment of judicial review prevented political parties from passing these unreasonable acts planned for their own

Louisiana Purchase, the western half of the Mississippi River basin purchased in 1803 from France by the United States, at less than three cents per acre for 828,000 square miles. It was the greatest land bargain in U.S. history. The purchase doubled the size of the United States, greatly strengthened the country materially and strategically, provided a powerful impetus to westward expansion, and confirmed the doctrine of implied powers of the federal Constitution. The Louisiana Territory had been the object of Old World interest for many years before 1803. Many Explorations and scattered settlements in the 17th and 18th centuries would give France control over the river and title to most of the Mississippi valley. The first serious disruption

The Court’s final decision was unanimous and it denied Marbury’s request for the writ of mandamus. Marbury never received his appointment. This case is significant because it established the concept of judicial review. The Constitution does not specifically grant the judiciary this power. Judicial review allows federal courts to review laws and determine if they are constitutional or not. This gives the judiciary the power to void any laws that are found to violate any part of the Constitution. Therefore, Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that the portion of the Judiciary Act of 1789 that gave the federal courts the authority to hear mandamus cases was unconstitutional. Ironically, Chief Justice Marshall is the person who was the Secretary of State under Adams that sealed Marbury’s appointment.