Compare And Contrast Marbury Vs Madison

782 Words4 Pages

Marbury v. Madison
In the final days of his presidency, John Adams approved a law for 16 new federal judges, called the Judiciary Act of 1801. Thomas Jefferson did not agree with these last minute appointments. Secretary of State James Madison did not deliver the appointment notices to the judges. William Marbury, one of the new judges, fought back against losing his new job. He argued that, by law, Madison must deliver his notice and that Jefferson must allow him to take his position. In the case of Marbury v. Madison, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Marbury had the right to his position but that the court could not force Jefferson or Congress to give it to him. The Supreme Court ruled the Judiciary Act of 1801 unconstitutional. This was …show more content…

When U.S. ships began to trade in the area, the pirates attacked them, too. They captured American sailors. President Jefferson sent the U.S. Navy and Marines to fight the pirates and protect American shipping. The First Barbary War lasted officially from 1801 to 1805. Piracy in the Mediterranean Sea began again less than two years later, but Jefferson had a greater threat to U.S. trade to worry about.
Embargo
Pirates were not the only U.S. shipping problem. With France and Great Britain at war with each other, U.S. ships and goods were sometimes attacked. U.S. sailors were kidnapped and forced to serve in the British Navy. Impressment enraged Americans. In 1807, President Jefferson authorized the Embargo Act. Trade with foreign countries ended. Jefferson wished to force France and Great Britain to accept the United States as neutral in their conflict and allow the trade. Though the embargo had little impact on those nations, it devastated the U.S. economy. Americans were unable to sell their goods or purchase needed foreign products. Some desperate Americans traded illegally, like the man in the