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American Judiciary, Part 7: Marbury v. Madison
Marbury v Madison is the most consequential legal decision in our nation’s history because it established the concept of judicial review in the United States. This principal grants to the judiciary the responsibility to review laws for their constitutionality and gives it the power to void legislation it finds repugnant to the Constitution. That decision was rendered by John Marshall, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1803, but the road to that decision extends further back.
American Judiciary, Part 6: The Nationalist from Virginia
John Marshall's active service in the Continental Army ended in December 1779, although he did not officially retire from the military until February 1781. Marshall went home to Virginia to await his next command, anxious to get back into the fight, but that call never came as the war in the north wound down.
American Judiciary, Part 5: John Marshall, Soldier of the Revolution
In early December 1775, Major Thomas Marshall and his son, Lieutenant John Marshall, and the rest of the Culpepper Minutemen were ordered to join Colonel William Woodford at Great Bridge, a small village nine miles south of Norfolk. Here, in the first fight of the American Revolution in Virginia, the young Lieutenant from the frontier would get his initial taste of battle.
American Judiciary, Part 4: The Early Life of John Marshall
John Marshall is perhaps the most impactful and influential man in American history who was never president. Almost single handedly, John Marshall created our national judiciary and established it as a branch of government co-equal to the legislative and executive branches.
The House of Representatives Chooses Thomas Jefferson
The presidential election of 1800 ended in a tie, as the two Democratic-Republican candidates, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, each received 73 electoral votes under the original guidelines of the Constitution.
The XYZ Affair
On March 4, 1797, John Adams was sworn in as the second president of the United States and began a four-year stretch that would be dominated by a deteriorating relationship with France. Adams would also see a decrease in support from his own Federalist Party as the supremely conscientious Adams pursued policies that he deemed best for the country, but not necessarily best for the party or his popularity.