Midnight Judges: The Day Before John Adams
The book Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800 is a book describing what led up, and what happened during the 1800 election. Furling went as far as to mention the American revolution and talked all the way to the year 1800. Although he didn’t talk about the 1800 election until the last couple chapters, Ferling filled the readers minds with what was going on in America before the election. Ferling gives a short biography about all the candidates in the election of 1800, like Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Charles Pinckney, and Aaron Burr.
From the Constitution’s ratification in 1787 through the 1850s, many American historians shared the consensus that the founding fathers had designed the Constitution the way they did because they were trying to protect the citizens and their rights. James Kent was one very prominent historian among this group. In his book, Commentaries on American Law (1826), he stated “THE government of the United States was erected by the free voice and joint will of the people of America, for their common defence [defense] and general welfare...and it is justly deemed the guardian of our best rights, the source of our highest civil and political duties, and the sure means of national greatness.” (Kent) Essentially, James Kent was trying to convey the point
Chapter 9 The Jefferson Era was between 1800 and 1816. It started with The Federalist and Republican Parties fighting an election campaign in 1800. Federalists supported President Adams and Charles Pinckney for vice president. Republicans nominated Thomas Jefferson for president and Aaron Burr as his running mate.
The Midnight appointments start at the beginning of the Judicial review. William Marbury was the second midnight judge appointed by John Adams before Thomas Jefferson was in office. The midnight judges were judges appointed by John Adams and created sixteen new judgeships and federal courts. The judicial review was started by the Marbury v Madison case, with the question of whether the Supreme Court has the power to order the delivery of Marbury's commission. John Adams made William Marbury a commission, but James Madison, the secretary of state, refused to deliver the commission.
First, it does not always reflect the will of the people. Since it is the people who elect the Congress and the President, I believe their will should prevail. The Supreme Court should obey the will of the people rather than relying on interpretation of the constitution. Also, Judicial Review may cause a president or Congress to delay some activity or law until they get an opinion from legal advisers as to the constitutionality of the action or law, (Clinton, 1989). This might affect solving some essential matters of urgency lest the Supreme Court rules against it
Before the end of John Adams presidency, he decided to appoint as many Federalist judges as possible. This was called the Judiciary Act of 1801 and it also stated that the judges couldn’t be removed. Adams knew that once Jefferson took over, he would turn the government and the country around based on Democratic Republican beliefs. John Adams didn’t want the government to be taken over by Democratic Republicans, also known as radicals, who were people that took extreme political positions. He thought that they would ruin the country and wanted some Federalist powers to remain in the government even after his presidency.
He very well deserved his position and the law did grant and abided by Marbury’s reasoning. He had a right to his documents being submitted. John Marshall, cousin of Marbury later became Chief of justice of the Supreme Court, and he was a huge factor in this case. I believe that though this case is solely about Marbury getting his commission, John Marshall being related to Marbury was somewhat another clear light for Marbury. In efforts to have Marbury appointed as Justice of Peace, Marshall tried his best to help the courts see that it was his cousin’s right to have his documents taken in, without expressing their family relationship with in the
Nicole Johnson J. Howell AP US History 18 November 2016 Abigail Adams: Witness To A Revolution Abigail Adams: Witness To A Revolution is a novel which carries readers through the exciting tale of Abigail’s life, largely using the letters she wrote to friends and family as a guideline. This novel portrays Abigail as an educated, collected woman who bared witness to the American Revolution. The novel was written by Natalie S. Bober, who is an award-winning novelist and historian, according to Bober’s website.
The election of 1800 was a close race between President John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the Democratic-Republican Vice President seeking his own term as President. As the election progressed, Adams appointed several Federalist judges to the judiciary. This became known as the “Midnight Judges” (John Adams 4). Jefferson resented these appointments and saw them as a threat towards his presidency. Adams was the first “presidents not to attend the inauguration of his successor.
Adams had appointed several justices for the District of Columbia prior to being defeated. The senate had approved the commissions and the commissions signed by the president as well as being affixed with the government's official seal. However, the commissions were not delivered, and when Jefferson took office, he instructed James Madison the Secretary of States not to deliver them. William Marbury who was on the list of appointees petitioned the Supreme Court for a legal order compelling Madison to explain why he was not to receive the commission (Clinton 1994). Issues
John Marshall’s Supreme Court hearings had a positive effect on the United States. From court cases like McCulloch v. Maryland, declared that the federal courts could decide if state laws were unconstitutional. The McCulloch v. Maryland trial went to the supreme court because Maryland had put a tax in place that too 2% of all assets of the bank or a flat rate of $30,000. John Marshall saw this tax as unconstitutional for the simple fact that people were being denied their property under the state legislature. From the Gibbons v. Ogden case, congress’s power over interstate commerce was strengthened.
He expanded the power of the Supreme Court by declaring that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and that the Supreme Court Justices were the final deciders. In the Marbury vs. Madison case, Marshall wrote "It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.” John Marshall was clearly in favor of judicial power, and believed that the Supreme Court should have the final say in cases involving an interpretation of the Constitution. While establishing this, he kept the separation of powers in mind, as he wanted equal representation among the Judicial, Executive, and Legislative branches. In the Marbury vs. Madison, John Marshall declared that the Judicial Branch could not force Madison to deliver the commission.
One of these justices that were appointed was William Marbury. The
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 Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at the time was Chief Justice John Marshall, and he declared that this whole process of delivering commissions for judges, the Judiciary Act, was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court declared this act illegal, because it gave the Supreme Court a power that they were forbidden to have. This is when the first law was declared unconstitutional and judicial review came into
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