The Marshall Court

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The life of every American citizen, whether they realize it or not, is influenced by one entity--the United States Supreme Court. This part of government ensures that the freedoms of the American people are protected by checking the laws that are passed by Congress and the actions taken by the President. While the judicial branch may have developed later than its counterparts, many of the powers the Supreme Court exercises required years of deliberation to perfect. In the early years of the Supreme Court, one man’s judgement influenced the powers of the court systems for years to come. John Marshall was the chief justice of the Supreme Court from 1801 to 1835, and as the only lasting Federalist influence in a newly Democratic-Republican government, he and his fellow justices sought to perpetuate their Federalist principles in the United States’ court system. In one of the most memorable court cases of all time--the case of Marbury v. Madison-- Marshall established the idea of judicial review and strengthened the power of the judicial branch in the government. Abiding by his Federalist ideals, Marshall decided cases that would explicitly limit the power of the state government and broaden the strengths of the national government. Lastly, the Marshall Court was infamous for determining the results of cases that dealt with the interpretation of the Constitution and the importance of contracts in American society. The Marshall Court, over the span of a mere three decades, managed to influence the life of every American citizen even to this day by impacting the development of the judicial branch, establishing a boundary between the state and national government, and making declarations on the sanctity of contracts ("The Marshall Court"...

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... College v. Woodward provided corporations and private economic institutions protection from state government regulations, thus allowing industry and business to expand (Newmyer, 247). The decision made by Marshall influenced several different areas in American society and have left their perpetual mark on America’s court system, judicial branch, and economic system. While the Marshall Court may have been a mere speck in the history of the United States, its decisions have lived on for hundreds of years.

Works Cited

"The Marshall Court." The Supreme Court Historical Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.
Newmyer, R. Kent. John Marshall and the Heroic Age of the Supreme Court. Baton Rouge:
Louisiana State UP, 2001. Web.
Pinzler, Andrew. "Rulings of the Marshall Court." Rulings of the Marshall Court. The Ethical
Culture Fieldston School, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.

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