The Founding Fathers : Virginia

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 However, through complex political maneuvering the Judiciary Act of 1802, was enacted which repealed the Judiciary Act of 1801 reestablishing the Judiciary Act of 1789 and postponing the case until 1803.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

Marbury v. Madison (1803), was a case that created a principle of the American Constitution. Secretary of State James Madison was ordered by Thomas Jefferson to not deliver commissions that were previously supposed to be delivered. Madison was sued by the plaintiffs who did not receive their commission. Suing in the Supreme Court, the plaintiffs argued Madison was neglecting his constitutional duty by refusing to deliver the commissions.

The overall influence of the Supreme Court under John Marshall can be understood through the five main court cases over which he presided; Marbury v. Madison (1803), Fletcher v. Peck (1810), Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819), McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), and Gibbons v. Ogden (1824). The first significant case Marshall was faced with was Marbury v. Madison in 1803. In the last few days of his presidency, John Adams appointed members of the Federalist Party to the new offices he created within the judicial branch. When Thomas Jefferson took office he told James Madison, his secretary of state, not to deliver the unsent commissions to some of the “midnight appointments”, one of who was William Marbury. He appealed to the Supreme Court, asking for a court order that would require Madison to send out the commission, which was part of his job. The Judiciary Act of 1789 supported Marbury’s demands because it authorized the Supreme Court to order

The Constitution pays a massive role in court decisions both in the federal and state cases. If the State Supreme Court cannot come to a decision on a case, the case will be turned over to the Supreme Court who has the final authority in interpreting the meaning of the Constitution in any case. The courts also have the power of judicial review—to declare a law unconstitutional. Due to the decision of Chief Justice John Marshall the Supreme Court has this power from the case of Marbury v. Madison in 1801. The case Marbury v. Madison took place during the election of 1800 when Thomas Jefferson defeated President John Adams, but the new administration did not take office until March of 1801. When the new administration took office James Madison (Secretary of State) discovered that some commissions were not delivered. One of the people whose commission had not been received

Before, the war in 1803, President Thomas Jefferson acquired land from the French for $15 million. This was best known as the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of the United States it stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to New Orleans.

Marshall complained that the Constitution is the “supreme law of the land” and that the Supreme Court ultimately has the final say so when it comes to evaluating the meaning of the Constitution. Marshall states, “ lt is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.” To present Marshall’s initial plea at hand, Marshall argues that the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional. In Marshall 's perspective, Congress could not present the Supreme Court with the power to issue an order granting Marbury his commission. Only the Constitution could do so, and the document said nothing about the Supreme Court having the power to issue such an order. Thus, the Supreme Court could not force Jefferson and Madison to appoint Marbury, because it did not have the power to do so.

In the eyes of several, the Louisiana Purchase may well be recognized as one of the all-time greatest real estate deal. As Paul Leicester stated in his work of The Works of Thomas Jefferson “Jefferson at the stroke of a pen essentially doubled the territorial extent of the United States.” On April 30, 1803, U.S. representatives located in Paris approved to purchase 828,000 square miles at the very cost-efficient amount of fifteen million dollars that spread from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, and from the Gulf of Mexico all the way north to Canada. To better realize how inexpensive the United States purchased that land for was about eighteen dollars and some change per square mile. Soon enough, the newly purchased land of western territory became six states and portions of nine present-day states. As one could imagine this great purchase did not happen without a buildup of time, and without many factors leading up to the Louisiana Purchase. Below are a couple of factors such as the Spanish control of New Orleans and Napoleon’s burning desire for the Caribbean Island of Haiti.

The Louisiana purchase was a land deal between the United states and France in which the United States gained 827,000 square miles. The land west of the Mississippi river to the Rocky Mountains was for fifteen million dollars that took place in 1803 of April thirtieth. The Louisiana purchase induced many advantages as it did disadvantages for president Thomas Jefferson.

The Louisiana Purchase was the most important event of President Thomas Jefferson's first Administration. In this transaction, the United States bought 827,987 square miles of land from France for about $15 million. This vast area lay between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, stretching

The Louisiana Purchase was purchased in 1803 by Thomas Jefferson the president at that time. The Louisiana purchase was a land purchase between the United States and France, in which the U.S. gained around 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million dollars. This was the greatest land deal in history.

Established in 1789, the Supreme Court was created to interpret the meaning of the Constitution and to use that interpretation to declare any actions of the Legislative or Executive Branches unconstitutional. However, the Supreme Court was capable of also acquiring more functions as evidence of the landmark case of Marbury v. Madison (1803). The case dealt with President John Adams appointing sixteen new circuit court justices for the District of Colombia. Adams appointed these justices so that his political party would have more justices than the rival party. Problematically, the appointment letters were not delivered by the end of his term. By that basis, President Thomas Jefferson annulled the appointments because he retained the right to appoint the justices during his time of jurisdiction. Consequently, this aggravated the appointed justice and therefore one of the justices named William Marbury filed a case in the Supreme Court over the commissions that they were promised (Goldstone). The Court ruled that Marbury did have a right to commission and also with it made a statement that enacted the doctrine of Judicial Review. This meant that the court had the "right to review, and possibly nullify, laws and governmental acts that violate the constitution. Judicial Review is a means of assuring that politicians and various other leaders adhere to the constitution and do not use powers granted to them by

The Louisiana Purchase, in 1803 was a deal for land between the United States and France, in which the U.S. purchased approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. The territory that was bought included Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska, parts of Minnesota and Louisiana west of Mississippi River, including New Orleans, big parts of North and northeastern New Mexico, South Dakota, northern Texas, some parts of Wyoming, Montana, and Colorado as well as parts of Canadian territories Alberta and Saskatchewan. This effectively doubled the size of the United States. The land was bought on the date July 4, 1803.

The Louisiana Purchase was a land deal between the United States and France. The United States bought about 828,000 square miles from France. For many years, the French controlled this region from 1699 until 1762, then it became property to spain because France gave it to them as a present since they were allies. In 1801, Spain signed a secret treaty with France to return the Louisiana Territory back to France. The Louisiana Territory stretched from the Mississippi River in the east, to the Rockey Mountains in the west.

The case Marbury vs. Madison led to the most important decision the US Supreme Court has ever made. The parties, William Marbury, appointed Justice of Peace under the Judiciary Act of 1801 by John Adams the former US president, and James Madison, Thomas Jefferson’s Secretary of State at the time, had conflicting interests concerning William Marbury’s right to office. Madison refused to grant Marbury his appointment. This led to Marbury ordering the Supreme Court to issue a writ of mandamus, obliging Marbury to grant his commission. Marbury’s main argument was that the Judiciary Act of 1789 granted the power to issue former to the Supreme Court. By refusing the appointment, Marbury claims, is Madison violating his legal rights to obtain the commission. The Court’s ruling in this case, delivered by Mr. Chief Justice John Marshall in 1803, had an important impact on the establishment of judicial review. But was the Court’s decision justified?

At first France rejected these offers, but as Napoleon began herding for money, he started considering it. Finally in 1803, President Jefferson sent James Monroe to negotiate with the French. As a result, Napoleon finally agreed to sell New Orleans and also included the entirety of the French territory into the offer for only five million dollars more. The territory was sold for fifteen million dollars, making it only four cents per acre. Around 826,000 square miles, it essentially doubled the size of America’s territory. This area was full of fertile soil, grazing land and much more. It would make up parts of fifteen new states. The Louisiana Purchase Treaty is very significant to America’s history. It added to the agricultural power of the United States, and the amount of slaves in the states also increased because of the extra