Transcript document
Good Afternoon!
Please obtain a copy of
“Quotations about the U.S.
Supreme Court and the
Constitution.”
Answer questions 1—4 for
Individuals, a and b
The Early U.S.
Supreme Court
and the
Marshall
Court Era
What Do You Think ?
#1 “The Constitution — its
words and their meaning —
was established by the people,
can only be changed by the
people, and is sacredly
obligatory upon all of
government, including judges.”
What Do You Think ?
#2 “(The Constitution is)
intended to endure for ages to
come, and consequently, to be
adapted to the various crises
of human affairs.”
What Do You Think ?
#3 “We are under a
Constitution, but the
Constitution is what the
judges say it is.”
What Do You Think ?
#4 “Those who made and
endorsed our Constitution
knew man's nature, and it is to
their ideas, rather than to the
temptations of utopia, that we
must ask that our judges
adhere.”
Continuing Theme Through History
Federalist v Anti-Federalist
Federalist Party v Democratic Republicans
Adams, Marshall, Chase v Jefferson, Burr, Martin
Strong National Government v States Rights
Strong Judiciary v Limited Judiciary
Article III, U. S. Constitution
What are the specific duties,
powers and organization of the
Supreme Court as stated in
Article III of the U.S.
Constitution?
There are NONE stated
Article III, U. S. Constitution
"[t]he judicial Power of the
United States, shall be vested
in one Supreme Court, and in
such inferior Courts as the
Congress may from time to time
ordain and establish."
Judiciary Act of 1789
• Created 13 Judicial Districts for 11 States
• Eastern, Middle & Southern Circuits
• Created U. S. Attorney General
• President Nominates Justices & Senate Approves
• Established the Supreme Court’s Jurisdictions
• One Chief Justice & 5 Associate Justices
• All Justices “Ride the Circuit”
• the Court could issue “writs of mandamus”
The First U.S. Supreme Court
Chief Justice:
John Jay, from New York
Associate Justices:
John Rutledge, from South Carolina
William Cushing, from Massachusetts
James Wilson, from Pennsylvania
John Blair, from Virginia
James Iredell, from North Carolina
Supreme Court Locations
• The Supreme Court was first called to assemble on
Feb. 1, 1790, in the Merchants Exchange Building
in New York City, the nation’s first capital
• 1790—1801: Court meets in the old
City Hall, Philadelphia
• 1801: Court meets in basement of
the capitol in Washington, D.C.
(except for 1812—1819 due to War
of 1812). and from 1860 until 1935
it met in the old Senate Chamber
City Hall, Philadelphia
The early Court
was not at all
prestigious.
Jay resigned in
1795 to run for
Governor of
New York.
Who was our
second Chief
Justice from July
to December of
1795 who never
actually sat on
the Supreme
Court?
Washington appointed
John Rutledge as an
Associate Justice in
1789. He resigned in
1791 to serve on
the South Carolina Supreme
Court; he never sat on the U.S.
Supreme Court. In July 1795, he
was appointed Chief Justice.
On July 16, 1795, Rutledge
gave a highly controversial
speech denouncing the Jay
Treaty with England. He
reportedly said in the speech
"that he had rather the
President should die than sign
that puerile instrument" – and that he
"preferred war to an adoption of it.”
Independent Chronicle (Boston). 1795-08-13, reprinted in The
Documentary History of the Supreme Court of the United States,
1789-1800 by Maeva Marcus and James Russell Perry.
…Rutledge’s attack of
Washington and the
Jay Treaty and rumors
of mental illness
resulted in the Senate
letting his appointment expire on
12/28/95 and he attempted
suicide that day.
Oliver Ellsworth
served as our third
Chief justice from
1796 to 1800. As a
Senator, he had
co-authored the
Judiciary Act of 1789
Election of 1796
Pres. John Adams
Federalist Party
Most electoral votes
Vice Pres. Thomas Jefferson
Democratic Republican Party
#2 electoral votes
The Election of 1800
Candidate
Party
Electoral
Vote
Thomas Jefferson (VA)
DemocraticRepublican
73
Aaron Burr (NY)
DemocraticRepublican
73
John Adams (MA)
C.C. Pinckney (SC)
Federalist
Federalist
65
64
John Jay (NY)
Federalist
1
Jefferson, a DemocraticRepublican replaces
Adams, a Federalist
How can
Federalists
retain their
national
power?
Adams’ Efforts to Preserve
Federalists’ Power
• Appoints Marshall
Chief Justice
• Appoints 42
“Midnight Judges” at 9 pm on
final day in office
In 1801, Adams
appointed his
Secretary of State,
John Marshall, as
Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court.
Like Adams, Marshall
was a Federalist
who favored a strong
central government.
The Federalist Senate
stayed in session until
midnight to confirm
Adams’ 42 new judges,
but only 25 were actually
delivered that night. The
next day, Thomas Jefferson
became President. His
Secretary of State, James
Madison, refused to deliver
the final 17 appointments.
Who should have
the final decision?
• The Congress?
OR
• The U.S. Supreme Court?
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
William Marbury, one of the
midnight judges, asked the
Court for a writ of mandamus
to order Madison to deliver his
appointment and those of the
other 16 “midnight judges.”
This became the case of
Marbury v. Madison.
William Marbury
James Madison
The Court’s Decision
• Marbury’s appointment was legal.
• The Court’s power to grant a writ of
mandamus under the Judiciary Act of
1789 was unconstitutional.
• Marbury v. Madison was the first time
the Supreme Court declared a law of
Congress to be unconsitutional.
Jefferson’s Reaction to Decision
President Thomas Jefferson said that
judicial review made the Constitution…
"a mere thing of wax in the hands of the
judiciary, which they (Supreme Court)
may twist and shape into any form they
please."
Origins of Judicial Review
• England: Chief Justice Edward Coke's 1610 opinion
• Glorious Revolution of 1688 ends judicial review in
England and Parliament declared itself supreme
• Included in several state constitutions
• Ware v. Hylton (1796) A state constitutional provision
inconsistent with a federal treaty is void
• “…no scholar to date has identified even one
participant in the ratification fight who argued that the
Constitution did not authorize judicial review of
Federal statutes.” Prakash and Yoo (2003) in The
Origins of Judicial Review
Who was the
only Justice of
the U.S.
Supreme Court
to be
impeached?
Associate Justice Samuel Chase
• Became a staunch Federalist.
• Appointed Associate Justice in 1796
• Tried Jefferson supporters for
violations of Alien & Sedition Acts
• “Ought the seditious…attack [by
Chase] on the principles of our
Constitution . . .to go unpunished?“
--Jefferson letter to Congressman
• Impeached by House
• Dem-Rep majority Senate (25—9)
fails to convict Chase
• Serves until death in 1811
Key Players: Chase Impeachment
Samuel Chase
Thomas Jefferson
John Marshall
Aaron Burr
Luther Martin
Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819)
•
In 1768, George III chartered Dartmouth
College
• In 1815, the NH legislature tried to alter the
charter & reinstate the deposed president,
converting it from private to public
• Daniel Webster argued for the College
• The Court’s decision invalidated the state’s
action and limited the power of the States to
interfere with private charters and contracts
Mc Culloch v. Maryland (1819)
• Does Congress have the
constitutional power to charter
a national bank?
-YES!
• Did Maryland have the
constitutional power to tax a
national bank chartered by
Congress?
-NO!
Mc Culloch v. Maryland (1819)
“(The Constitution is)
intended to endure for
ages to come, and
consequently, to be
adapted to the various
crises of human affairs.”
--John Marshall in Mc Culloch v. Maryland (1819)
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
New York State gave Ogden
a monopoly to operate
steam-boats between New
York and neighboring states.
Gibbons had a federal license to operate
between New York and New Jersey.
Ogden went to a New York court seeking
to shut down Gibbons.
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
“the Congress shall have the
power …to regulate Commerce
with foreign nations, and among
the several states, and with the
Indian tribes.”
Chief Justice John Marshall
--Commerce Clause, Article I, Section 8,
U.S. Constitution
Gibbons v. Ogden: Decision
Gibbons wins. “Commerce”
includes navigation and
although Gibbons carried
passengers, not goods, it still
involved “commerce.” The federal government
could regulate any good unless it was entirely
made, sold and used in a single state. States
cannot share the power to regulate interstate
commerce.
Worcester v. Georgia (1832)
• Worcester and other missionaries violated a
GA law that required any person living in
Indian territory to have a state license. If
they had applied for a license it would have
been denied, for they were helping the
Indians to resist removal. They were
convicted and sentenced to four years of
hard labor. They appealed their conviction
to the U.S. Supreme Court on the grounds
that the law was unconstitutional.
Worcester v. Georgia (1832)
The Decision:
• The relationship between the U.S. and
Indian nations is that of nations
• U.S. inherited the sole right of dealing
with Indians from the British
• Only the national government, and not
states, have authority involving Indians
and Indian territory
Treaty of Hopewell (1775)
“The Commissioners Plenipotentiary of the United
States, in Congress assembled, give peace to all
the Cherokees, and receive them into the favor
and protection of the United States of America, on
the following conditions:
ARTICLE 9. For the benefit and comfort of the
Indians, and for the prevention of injuries or
oppressions on the part of the citizens or Indians,
the United States in Congress assembled shall
have the sole and exclusive right of regulating the
trade with the Indians, and managing all their
affairs in such manner as they think proper.
Policy of Indian Removal
The goal of U.S. policy from President
Jefferson to President Jackson was Indian
Removal
Jefferson’s letter to Harrison
Jackson’s refusal to enforce the
Worcester v. Georgia decision
Marshall Court Era: Conclusion
Although Washington (sided
With Federalists) and Adams
were the only Federalist
Presidents, the Federalists’
John Marshall
belief in establishing a strong
central government was extended until 1835
through Adams’ appointment of Chief Justice
John Marshall.
Marshall Court Era: Conclusion
The Marshall Court decisions
asserted the power of judicial
review & clearly established the
supremacy of the national
government over the states
•
•
•
•
Commerce (Gibbons v. Ogden)
Banking (Mc McCullough v. Maryland)
Contracts (Dartmouth College case)
Indian affairs (Worcester v. Georgia
John Marshall