Marbury V Madison

1352 Words3 Pages

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Marbury v. Madison has been hailed as one of the most significant cases that the Supreme Court has ruled upon. In this paper, I will explain the origins and background in the case, discuss the major Constitutional issues it raised, and outline the major points of the courts decision. I will also explain the significance of this key decision.

Origins and background of the case

In the late 1700's, John Adams was President. Adams was a member of the Federalist Party. The Federalists were in control of the Congress. Adams and other Federalists were Pro-British and the Republican Party was Pro-French. Thomas Jefferson led the Republicans. Federalists were worried that the influx of French into the country could become a powerful voting block. The Alien and Sedition Acts were passed by the Federalist controlled Congress to deal with this problem. The first of the laws was the Naturalization Act. This act required that aliens be residents for 14 years instead of 5 years before they became eligible for U.S. citizenship. Congress then passed the Alien Act, authorizing the President to deport aliens "dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States" during peacetime. The third law, the Alien Enemies Act, allowed the wartime arrest, imprisonment and deportation of any alien subject to an enemy power.

The last of the laws, the Sedition Act, declared that any treasonable activity, including the publication of "any false, scandalous and malicious writing," was a high misdemeanor, punishable by fine and imprisonment. The public was outraged and felt that this was a violation of their rights and that the government was becoming too overbearing.

The Alien and Sedition Acts were a major reaso...

... middle of paper ...

...e Constitution.

Marshall's decision firmly establishes that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land and that the Supreme Court is to strike down an act of Congress that is inconsistent with the Constitution. If a law written by the legislature conflicts with the Constitution, the law is "null and void."

Bibliography

Primary Source

Hamilton, Alexander. "Federalist Papers 78" June 14, 1788

Marbury v. Madison 1 Cranch 137 (1803).

Secondary Sources

Brainard, Rick. "The Judicial Mind of John Marshall: Nationalism"

http://www.history1700s.com/page1757.shtml

Barrus, Roger."Remembering John Marshall" 24 September 2005

The Washington Times

Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798. Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Alien.html

United States Constitution. Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Constitution.html

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