In Federalist No. 78, Alexander Hamilton lays out his vision for how the Supreme Court of the United States should function. In it, he assures that one of the key roles of the Supreme Court will be to check the constitutionality of congressional legislation in order to protect the individual rights of the people. However, in his opinion for the Marbury v. Madison case in 1803, Chief Justice John Marshall interprets the power of judicial review from Article III of the constitution, in a way in which the court becomes a powerful branch of government. With Marshall’s interpretation, the court is able to declare null legislation if it contradicts the constitution. Hamilton did not intend for the court to have the power to nullify legislation, but …show more content…
The court was charged with the protection of these liberties as an independent body able to declare violations of the constitution from Congress. Hamilton made the assurance in Federalist No. 78 that ultimately the constitution will be the supreme law of the land and that the court would respect the will of the people. He explains the court as the arbiter between Congress and the people. Therefore, the courts will check Congress by making sure the laws written by them did not abuse the power granted to them under the constitution. For Hamilton, the purpose of judicial review was for the court to eventually place the will of the people above both Congress and the court. From his perspective, the court would focus on interpreting the constitutionality of the laws written by Congress in the light of the constitution. Hamilton’s sole purpose was to protect people from tyranny. In other words, the court’s job was not to impose their will on Congress, but to make sure laws were being written to respect people’s basic constitutional rights. Hamilton also purposed for the court to function as a protector from political factions within the political parties that might arise. He knew that special interest groups would attempt to pass certain legislation to benefit their self-interest. In order to protect people’s individual rights from the corruption of …show more content…
78 have been negated, given the power the Supreme Court established in the Marbury v. Madison Decision. Hamilton never intended for the court to have the power to nullify congressional legislation through judicial review. He simply intended for the court to interpret the laws written by Congress in order to preserve the individual rights of the people. The protection of these rights over the will of congress and the court itself was Hamilton’s main vision. He’s purpose was to safeguard the people from a tyrannical government. Nevertheless, Chief Justice John Marshall, through his genius was able bring the judicial branch on par with the legislative and executive branches with the self-imposed power of judicial review. With a masterful legal opinion in the Marbury case, Marshall created a system of common law review, which set the legal standard for future cases like Dred Scott v. Sanford and Brown v. Board of Education (O’Brien 167). The outcome of these cases has impacted the lives of Americans over the years. People’s will and desire has evolved over time, from a racially structured society in the 1800’s to the civil rights movement of the 1950’s. The moral views of Americans have changed over time, with a positive collective will. Although the current state of the court is not Hamilton’s blueprint design, Marshall’s opinion in the Marbury case has performed Hamilton’s main desire; the
(Not including the advancement of women and minorities). However, Hamilton would acknowledge that the times are changing and therefore the Constitution and law needs to be applicable to the ever times. Why should a justice focus on being as original to the Constitution as if it is 1789 and transportation is still by horse and technology not being advanced
The idea the the Supreme court alone had the last word on the question of constitutionality. In this landmark case, Marshall inserted the keystone into the arch that supported the tremendous power of the Supreme Court in American life.” This textual evidence shows that John Marshall from the previous paragraph that he pushed the authority of the court which lead to now the promotion of judicial review. The judicial review was the idea that the Supreme Court had the last response on the questioning of constitutionality. The judicial review was a long term ramification because it is still used still today to review the a law that is brought before it through a
There was discussion of judicial review in Federalist No. 78, written by Alexander Hamilton, which explained that the federal courts would have the power of judicial review. Hamilton stated that under the Constitution, the federal judiciary would have the power to declare laws unconstitutional. He also stated that this was appropriate because it would protect the people against abuse of power by Congress.
It did not make bold rulings or take on any cases of controversy. That would change when John Marshall became Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. It was transformed into a powerfully equal branch of the Federal Government. Over the next 34 years this one man, Chief Justice John Marshall
Only then will the judges be able to protect the constitution and the rights and privileges of the citizens, along with changing the minds of the framers who thought the judicial branch was weak. Hamilton emphasized that it was necessary for the judicial branch to take advantage of its power of checks and balances and make itself independent, however, still continue to work hand in hand with the
In both the McCulloch v. Maryland and Gibbons v. Ogden cases, John Marshall asserted the power of judicial review, and legitimatized the Supreme Court within the national government. The Marshall Court, over the span of thirty years, managed to influence the life of every American by aiding in the development of the judicial branch and establishing a boundary between the state and national government. John Marshall’s Supreme Court cases shaped how the government is organized today. He strongly believed in Federalism, and that the national government should be sovereign, rather than the states. The Supreme Court under John
The main purpose of a judicial branch per Hamilton is to "declare all acts contrary to the manifest tenor of the Constitution void", meaning to rule any laws or policies not in accordance with the Constitution, unconstitutional. He also states that they serve a purpose as an intermediate body between the people and the legislative branch, to check the legislature's
Hamilton, representing the “republicans”, and Jefferson representing the “Democrats”, each had plans of action that would only benefit them, but also benefits the people they represent. One of these ideas of government is their thoughts on how to govern state and federal powers. The Constitution gives rights to the people that need to be interpreted so civilians of the U.S. don’t follow them incorrectly. One of these issues that needed interpretation was the delegation of powers between the states and the federal governments. Hamilton felt that a strong central federal government was necessary, due to his past work as treasurer.
In Marbury v. Madison (1803) it was announced by the Supreme Court for the very first time, that if an act was deemed inconsistent with the constitution then the court was allowed to declare the act void. Thomas Jefferson’s secretary of state, James Madison, denied William Marbury of his commission. President John Adams appointed William Marbury the justice of peace for the District of Columbia during his last day in office. Madison denied Marbury of this commission because he believed that because it was not issued before the termination of Adams presidency, that it was invalid. Marbury himself started a petition, along with three others who were in a similar situation.
The Marbury v. Madison case, a Supreme Court case held in 1803, was the first time a law was ever declared unconstitutional. This case gave Congress as much power as the other branches. The Marbury v. Madison case gave the court the power of Judicial Review, this is why it is one of the most important cases in Supreme Court history. Democratic Republicans, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, won the election of 1800 and the Democratic Republicans ran Congress. The Supreme Court, however, was run by Federalist, and John Adams wanted to keep it that way.
John Marshall was the 4th Chief Justice of the United States of America. His court opinions assisted in laying the basis for the American Constitutional Law. He served as the Chief Justice for the duration of 6 Presidents; John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Jackson. During the American Revolution, Marshall served in the Militia of Virginia.
Marbury v. Madison was heard in 1803 and is considered a landmark United States Supreme Court case which helped the Court form the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the United States under a new article of the Constitution. This was a landmark decision because it helped to define the difference in power between the executive and judicial branches of the American government. It was the first time that a court ruled that they had the power to declare an act of Congress void if it is not consistent with the values of the Constitution. McCulloch v. Maryland was decided by the Supreme Court in 1819, and was known for asserting national supremacy for state action in areas of their constitutionally granted authority.
In 1787-1788 eighty-five essays appeared in the New York newspaper, they were supporting the federal constitution, Alexander Hamilton was one of the writers. Hamilton was responding to antifederalist who had claimed that absence of the Bill of Rights and a powerful Judiciary would bring oppression to the people. Hamilton argued that Judiciary was a weak branch of government compared to Executive and Legislature because it lacked an army to command and would only react to what the two branches of the government had proposed. I disagree with the statement by Alexander Hamilton that judiciary is the weakest branch of the government, maybe at that time it could have been viewed as so, but its power has increased through several amendments (Jellum, 2008). The Congress creates law, for example, they created the National Prohibition in the 1920s, and the president executes the laws by ensuring all the laws passed by the Congress are implemented.
In 1787 and 1788, the Federalist Papers were written and published in various newspapers in the state of New York intended to encourage Yorkers to vote in ratifying the proposed Constitution. The famous papers consist of eighty-five essays authored by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. In Federalist Paper No. 17, Alexander Hamilton explicitly addresses the fear that the proposed Constitution would lead to oppression at the hands of an “autocratic” national government. Hamilton argues that even if the national government were to try and seize the power of the states, it would not be simple to do. The main reason Hamilton gives that the States rights would be reserved is because these government have a greater influence over
Hana Kim Professor Yvonne Wollenberg Law and Politics 106 7 October 2015 Title In the United States government, there are three branches called the legislative, executive, and judicial branch. Out of these three, the judicial branch is the most powerful. The judicial branch is made up of the Supreme Court, the court with the most power in the country, and other federal courts that are lower in the system; the purpose of this branch is to look over laws and make sure they are constitutional and reasonable.