Dillinger and Hoover II
Dillinger and Hoover I
Mr. Justice Marshall II (Federal Court System)
Lead: In Marbury v. Madison Chief Justice John Marshall made the federal court system an equal partner in national affairs.
Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.
Content: In 1803 Marshall gave teeth to the Federal court system by declaring a law passed by Congress, signed by the President, to be unconstitutional. He established the principal of judicial review. Just before leaving office in 1801 President John Adams had appointed a large number of his party, the Federalists, to office. One of these so-called "midnight judges" was John Marshall, another was William Marbury, appointed Justice of the Peace of the District of Columbia. He was confirmed by the Senate, but his commission was not delivered. The new President, Thomas Jefferson refused to deliver it. Marbury sued to force its delivery. Such an order was a writ of mandamus, a command order.
Mr. Justice Marshall I (Federal Court System)
Lead: In the beginning the United States weren't very united.
Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.
Content: As originally conceived, the Federal Union was at best a loose confederation of sovereign states, governed by those very jealous for their state's rights. The Constitution of 1787 was a series of compromises: big state versus small state, slave versus free, commercial areas versus agricultural regions. No one knew how the political settlement would work.