The Supreme Court Two Hundred Years

The late 1700s and early 1800s was a critical time period in American history in which our newly independent nation was beginning to lay down the groundwork for how the country would run. During this time, America was in its infancy and its crucial first steps would dictate how the nation would either walk, run, or retreat. John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the Unites States, was a highly important and influential political figure whose decisions forever molded the future of the American judicial system. Like many other great political figures, much of John Marshall’s influence can be attributed to timing; he emerged just as the United States Constitution came into existence.

In America’s time there have been many great men who have spent their lives creating this great country. Men such as George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson fit these roles. They are deemed America’s “founding fathers” and laid the support for the most powerful country in history. However, one more man deserves his name to be etched into this list. His name was John Marshall, who decided case after case during his role as Chief Justice that has left an everlasting mark on today’s judiciary, and even society itself. Through Cases such as Marbury v. Madison (1803) and McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) he established the Judicial Branch as an independent power. One case in particular, named Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), displayed his

The Marshall Court is regarded as the most important court within the history of the United States. The decision made in several cases changed tribal sovereignty in an unprecedented way. The first of which in 1823, in Johnson vs McIntosh when it was ruled the private individuals could not purchase land from the natives. At the time the decision was in the United States favor as homestead rights were granted soon after the case, but it shaped the rights of natives in future years. The second case in 1831, Cherokee Nation vs Georgia gave the Indian tribes independence and served as a guidance for the federal government to govern natives. The most important decision was made in 1832 in the case of Worcester vs Georgia where

The life of every American citizen, whether they realize it or not, is influenced by one entity--the United States Supreme Court. This part of government ensures that the freedoms of the American people are protected by checking the laws that are passed by Congress and the actions taken by the President. While the judicial branch may have developed later than its counterparts, many of the powers the Supreme Court exercises required years of deliberation to perfect. In the early years of the Supreme Court, one man’s judgement influenced the powers of the court systems for years to come. John Marshall was the chief justice of the Supreme Court from 1801 to 1835, and as the only lasting Federalist influence in a newly Democratic-Republican

Currie, D. (1992), the Constitution in the Supreme Court: The First Hundred Years, 1789-1988, Pges152-155 (Univ. of Chicago).

As a newborn nation, America had many tasks ahead of it, such as structuring a well functioning government, economy, and court system. Two men who had an extreme influence over these things were Alexander Hamilton and John Marshall. Both had brilliant ideas to bring forth and would eventually shape the nation to be a land of economic prosperity and fairness. Hamilton’s financial plan began the emergence of an economically superior country and ended in the creation of political parties that would change the face of the nation. John Marshall’s rulings resulted in precedents still followed today and interpreted the Constitution in a way that would transform the Judicial branch for the rest of history. Both of these men began the nation’s history in a way that is unparallel to most other leaders of the new nation.

That day, the justices honed in on the Fifth Amendment aspects of the case, which pleased John Flynn to no end. The last man to present a position in the case before the court was Thurgood Marshall, whose personal opinions were diametrically opposed to the position of his employer, the U.S. government.

The Marshall Court has left numerous legacies in place in order to help establish this great nation. Chief Justice Marshall was a man that had many impacts on our Government from strengthening the authority of the Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison, which gave the courts judicial review, to Gibbons v. Ogden, which gave the national government undeniable power over interstate commerce by ruling a New York steamboat monopoly invalid. There were many other cases as well that were important to the government’s growth; such as Fletcher v. Peck that made it where a state law can never overthrow anything that came against the Federal Constitution. Chief Justice Marshall presided over many cases and ruled over such cases in a way that he felt would benefit the ever growing American nation. Through it all he helped establish three legacies; helping to make the federal government supreme over all things that would control the economy, he also helped to open the pathway where there’s an increased federal part to be played in economic growth, and finally in an effort to further any and all new industrial capitalist economy, he helped to make permanent protection for corporations and private businesses so that the states couldn’t interfere. These legacies helped to establish a better American nation in more ways that we can know. A key part of all of this

The court case of Marbury v. Madison (1803) is credited and widely believed to be the creator of the “unprecedented” concept of Judicial Review. John Marshall, the Supreme Court Justice at the time, is lionized as a pioneer of Constitutional justice, but, in the past, was never really recognized as so. What needs to be clarified is that nothing in history is truly unprecedented, and Marbury v. Madison’s modern glorification is merely a product of years of disagreements on the validity of judicial review, fueled by court cases like Eakin v. Raub; John Marshall was also never really recognized in the past as the creator of judicial review, as shown in the case of Dred Scott v. Sanford.

Thurgood Marshall’s impact and influence started at a young age with the development and guidance from his parents, William and Norma. They taught both he and his brother the importance of education and to think and learn. It was his father that exposed Thurgood and his brother to the aspects of the courtroom and the bases and practices of law. Their father would often get both of them engaged in discussions concerning cases observed in the court and promoted the need to debate their case. Both their parents were engaged in the boys’ lives an ensured education was a priority (“Thurgood Marshall,” n.d.).

There have been many complaints and theories of how the Supreme Court has a tendency to act as a "supra-legislature" (Woll 153). It is proposed that the Supreme Court takes the

The issue of national supremacy is one that is addressed through several cases decided by the Marshall Court. McCullough v. Maryland (1819) and Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) are two of the most important cases concerning national supremacy that came to the Supreme Court during John Marshall 's time as chief justice. While McCullough deals with the right of the federal government to create its own bank, Gibbons deals with the right of the federal government to regulate interstate and foreign commerce.

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.

Fletcher v. Peck, considered one of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decisions, is the first time the Court declared a state law unconstitutional. It also founded the idea that both public and private contracts are protected by the contract clause. The case concerned the question of whether Georgia's legislature had the authority to pass a law repealing a previous land grant made by the state. The Marshall Court would eventually find the 1796 act to be unconstitutional because the legislature was employing the judicial power of deciding a question of title.

According to Toobin, the history and personality of the Supreme Court has also been affected by continual topics in recurrent cases as well as recurring constitutional themes. These continually topics are seen in previous cases that have made reappearances in other cases as they are applied to modern times and cases. As seen in the provision of the historic rulings in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education and the 1964 Reynolds v. Sims that established the rule of “one person, one vote” and equal protection played a large role in the 1996 case of Romer v. Evans that ruled that Colorado could not keep its cities from passing laws to protect homosexuals (172). Even after over three decades, the decision in Brown and Reynolds greatly influenced the outcome of Romer as it gave insight into rights to all individuals. Laws regarding blacks also continued to recur in the Court system, especially after the civil rights movement of the 1960s and the laws regarding racial classifications. At this time, the Jim Crow laws were struck down and the justices examined law with “strict scrutiny.” Later in the 1970s, the government started programs to help blacks and minorities with affirmative action initiatives. However, the issue of Richmond v. Croson and the so-called Equal Protection Clause violation of a lack of minority subcontractors of J.A. Croson Company led to the debate of “reverse discrimination” and the dependence of the clause to race and classification (208-209). Consequently,