John Marshalls Court :: essays research papers

By the early 1800s, the debate over Federal power which had been so tactfully postponed when it surfaced in anterior efforts at unification (i.e., the Constitutional Convention) had again inevitably re atomic number 18d its head once the government was established and the neutral greatness of Washingtons reign had ended. As the major bulge of the day, the controversy of States rights versus big government permeated politics in a profound depth and completeness it was reflected in the core beliefs and platforms of the major political parties of the day, and most issues were at obscure levels reflections of this central conflict. Prominent politicians of the day, such as John Marshall and Thomas Jefferson, were also outstanding thinkers with very strong opinions on this issue.Several Acts of Congress prove the Legislature to be an effective battleground for the issue of federal power. In the end of the 18c, the Federalist Party enjoyed great political influence. Presidents and man y congressmen represented the partys goals and served as opponents to those who interpret too loudly the praises of "States rights". Thus, Congress succeeded in passing legislature that seriously challenged individual rights. The Alien Act made assimilation and naturalization more uncontrollable for immigrants, and the Sedition Act posed a substantial threat to First Amendment rights, as it specified punishment for "writing, printing, uttering, or publishing any false, scandalous, or vixenish writings" about virtually any branch or aspect of the U.S. government. Such a clear subordination of individual rights to Federal power evoked a strong Republican backlash, in both State Assemblies and ballot boxes. The Kentucky Resolutions were passed in State legislature attacking the Sedition Act, stating that "whensoever the general government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthorized, void, and of no force" (D) Two years later, Democratic-Republican T homas Jefferson was elected President and Congressional elections followed similar trends, ending the long-time Federalist dominance.A second issue touched upon by the Kentucky resolutions was that of judicial review. The Resolutions asserted that "the government created by this compact" (i.e., the Constitution) "was not made the exclusive or final judge of the extent of the powers delegated to itself" (D) This attacked the power of the Supreme judicatory to decide the constitutional validity of law and thus posed a threat to an important check on Legislative power. This document would not, however, dictate the futurity role of the Supreme Court that precedent was instead set by Chief Justice John Marshall, in practice as well as in his 1803 Marbury v.