Analysis Of The Quartet: Orchestrating The Second American Revolution

The origins of the American republic are shrouded in a fog of myth and convenient interpretation. It is not uncommon for each generation to reinterpret historical figures such as Alexander Hamilton in ways that the generation before them, or even the historical figure themselves would not recognize or appreciate. In addition, there is a long-standing tradition among those who analyze the American government to see it as weak. Only recently has academia tried to rebut the paradigm of a weak American government, a phenomenon which William J. Novak describes in his article, “The Myth of the ‘Weak’ American State.” In his book, “The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution,” Joseph J. Ellis attempts to disburse some of the fog

The Articles of Confederation were a weak governmental structure that was produced by the first American Revolution. The second American Revolution produced a centralized government which, as described by Novak, was capable of growing into the large and powerful entity that it is today. The Supreme Court made some of its most important decisions which expanded federal power while headed by Chief Justice Marshall, who, as contemporary of the founding fathers, fought in the Revolutionary War. The first of these cases was Marbury v. Madison, which established the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review, thereby making the following cases possible. The next important case was McCulloch v. Maryland which began when a branch of the Federal Bank in Maryland refused to pay taxes to the State of Maryland. The Court’s decision, that the Maryland law was unconstitutional, was an important step in cementing the supremacy of the federal government over the state governments. Gibbons v. Ogden was a case which started when a ferryboat captain, Gibbons, was sued for operating a steamboat in New York waters without a New York license as described in a New York Law. Gibbons argued that because he had a federal license under the Federal Coasting Act, he was allowed to operate his steamboat in U.S. coastal waters, including those of New York. The Court ruled in favor of Gibbons and declared the New York law unconstitutional because it conflicted with federal law, upholding the law of the land clause of the