Marshall Court Dbq

U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Marshall worked in the government for over three decades, receiving support for his decisions as well as criticism. The Marshall Court was the solution to a multitude of tough problems facing the United States. John Marshall greatly increased the rights and influence of the judicial branch as well as the free enterprise system. Marshall had a fair amount of success with the national government. John Marshall’s government work in the United States occurred between the years of 1801 and 1835. The judicial branch is the branch of government that interprets and applies laws to the states and includes the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court, Adams Judicial Appointments, and the Marbury v. Madison final decision all supported

As far as the Supreme Court goes, Article III of the U.S. Constitution never spoke of the definite roles or powers that the Court has the right to obtain, saying, “the Congress should from time to time establish” (Document A). The government was calling for a loose construction, which John Marshall, being a federalist, agreed with. This relaxed form of government gives the judicial branch more power, increasing its privilege. Next, during John Adams presidency, John Adams had proposed that John Jay, an ex-Chief Justice, be given a place on the Supreme Court. Jay rejected the offer, stating how the Court did not possess, “energy, weight, and dignity” (1801) (Document B). John Jay dismissed President John Adams proposal, for he knew John Marshall would bring these positive elements to the Court better than himself. John Marshall was elected to the Supreme Court a few months following this event. Another impact John Marshall made concerning the judicial branch was in the Court case Marbury v. Madison in 1803, which addressed the judicial branch’s authority over laws. The Supreme Court decided that it was the, “duty of the judicial department to say what the law is” (Document C). John Marshall granted the judicial branch complete say over the content of laws and if there were any contradicting laws that the judicial branch would get to decide what was best for the

Marbury v. Madison during the year of 1803, discussed the judicial branch’s power over lawmaking. Thomas Jefferson mentioned how the Court’s final choice made the Constitution, “a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary” (Document D). The judicial branch did receive more freedom early in the nineteenth century. The judicial branch was still required to follow what is stated in the Constitution in order to get a national law passed. Another way John Marshall expanded the national government was through the case of Dartmouth College v. Woodward in the year of 1819. This case concerned the state of New Hampshire wanting to take control from Dartmouth College’s trustees and replace them with Republican trustees. John Marshall concluded that Dartmouth was a private entity, not public. Marshall successfully exercised the national government’s power over a state’s government by limiting the controls of the New Hampshire state government. A way that John Marshall was not so successful in developing the national government was in President Jackson’s response to the final decision of Worcester v. Georgia (1832). Worcester v. Georgia addressed the Indian Removal Act. John Marshall decided against removing the Cherokees from their Georgia location and President Jackson was furious and was credited with saying, “John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it!” (Document I). President