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Summary Of Federalist No. 78 By Alexander Hamilton

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In Federalist No. 78, Alexander Hamilton lays out his vision for the Supreme Court of the United States. In this essay, Hamilton explains that the court should function as a “bulwark against majoritarian excesses” (O’Brien 181). His intension was for the court to protect the rights of the minority of the people against the tyranny of the majority. Hamilton makes the assurance that the court will use separation of powers as a “check” on Congress in order to protect against popular will (O’Brien 22). To accomplish this, the court had to function as an independent body in order to “safeguard” against the will of the majority and “occasional ill humors in the society” (O’Brien 349). Conversely, in his opinion for the Marbury v. Madison case, Chief Justice John Marshall interpreted the power of judicial review expressed in the constitution differently. He understood the court’s ability to “strike down” legislation as the command of the majority, which was embedded in the Constitution (O’Brien 173). This essay will analyze the juxtaposition between Alexander Hamilton’s blueprint for the Supreme Court in Federalist No. 78 and Chief Justice John Marshall’s …show more content…

In Federalist no. 78 Hamilton states the court “will always be the least dangerous,” because the court had no enforcement mechanisms (O’Brien 29). He explains that the court’s function is “merely judgement” and it depends on the “aid of the executive arm” to enforce its judgements (O’Brien 346, Federalist No. 78). Hamilton states that the court had no power over the “sword or the purse” (O’Brien 346, Federalist No. 78). For Hamilton the fact that the court received its funding from Congress and did not command an army like the president would make it harmless. The court’s job was to judge, and relegate all actions upon which court decisions had been made to the authority of the president (O’Brien 346, Federalist No.

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