The John Marshall Effect

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John Marshall 4th Supreme Court justice chief served for a drawn out time of 34 years of service is the single greatest symbol in American law. Marshall not only brought out the power of the Court but also set many important precedents which helped outline the structure of the Supreme Court today. I believe if anyone figure should represent American law it should be Marshall, due to his long lasting precedents and establishment of the court as a strong federal power. In the case of Marbury v. Madison (1803) Marshall set the precedent of judicial review, which allowed the Supreme Court to have a final say in all matters regarding the Constitution. Even if the law had been passed and signed by the President himself. Marshall by setting this precedent gave the Supreme Court immense power in not only that specific case but in all cases afterwards and as said on page 164 “…the precedent had been set and in law the precedent means almost everything.” McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) showed Marshall’s ruling on States right as it went against the Federal gov’t power. Marshall ended up ruling in favor of the Federal government, which probably stemmed Marshall’s own Federalist views on a powerful centralized government. This decision went a long way as it set the idea of the Federal Government being more powerful than the States. This not only established the federal government as a strong power but also putting the Supreme Court on the map by showing its ability to control the state rights and boost the power of the federal government. Marshall’s decision in Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) restrained the power the states again. Often called the emancipation proclamation of decisions Marshall decided that Congress gets to regulate commerce in the country. By setting this decision in the case Marshall once again put the federal government over the states by giving Congress yet another

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