Establishment of Judicial Review

The most significant event in American history after the Constitution in 1789, and before the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, occurred during the time that John Marshall was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, served as Chief Justice from 1801 until his death in 1835.

Still being in the early years of the United States, the meaning of the Constitution and of the Supreme Court were still being shaped, and the limits of their power were still being defined. Therefore, John Marshall's actions and rulings as Chief Justice were to have a great effect on the future of the United States, in regards to the interpretation of the Constitution.

Since the Federalist President John Adams had appointed him, Marshall always upheld his Federalist principles. There were three main principles guiding his judgements: "a commitment to judicial authority, the supremacy of national over state legislation, and a traditional, static view of property rights."

During his 34 years as Chief Justice, John Marshall established the Supreme Court as the ultimate body for interpreting the Constitution. This was first demonstrated in 1803, in the case of Marbury v. Madison.

Up until this time, the Supreme Court had never overturned a national law, nor had it claimed the power of judicial review, which is the right to decide if a law is constitutional or not.

When Marshall decided, in 1803, that the Judiciary Act of 1789 violated the Constitution, he was doing both things for the first time: overturning a national law, and claiming judicial review. This was an extremely important point in United States history. True, judicial review was not used often in the beginning. In fact, the next time it was used after that was 1857. However, it was to become an important element of the United States government.

For the rest of history to the present day, the power of the Supreme Court has, and continues to, play an important role in the lives of all Americans. The Supreme Court has made decisions regarding a wide array of issues, such as abortion. The Supreme Court is essentially the highest court of the land. When a decision is made in a lower court, but is still being argued, the issue may go before the Supreme Court.

Because the Supreme Court is such a vital part of our government, whose decisions influence many facets of our lives, I feel that John Marshall's ruling in the case Marbury v. Madison is the most important point in history in the period between the Constitution and the Civil War.

The precedents that John Marshall set for judicial review, the right of the Supreme Court to overturn laws, and the high power of the court, have proven to truly affect history.