(cid:3) (cid:3) TABLE OF CONTENTS (cid:144)(cid:3)(cid:144)(cid:3)(cid:144) 4 INTRODUCTION William Marbury thought he had the job locked up President John Adams during his last days in office in 1801 had filed the papers to make Marbury a justice 7 CHAPTER NO_ 1 A SLOW START As the Revolutionary War ended the states were governed by the Articles of Confederation The na tional government under the Arti cles was weak Disputes between states were difficult to resolve 27 CHAPTER NO_ 3 17 CHAPTER NO_ 2 EACH COURT MAKES A MARK When a president nominates someone to fill a spot on the Supreme Court one of the most vivid examples of the balance of power is revealed 37 CHAPTER NO_ 4 THE ROAD TO THE SUPREME COURT Sometimes your chore list seems so unfair you might want to take it to the Supreme Court But you’re probably going to have to find an other way to settle the dispute CONSTRUCTION AHEAD On paper the Supreme Court’s duties seem simple enough It ex amines presidential orders acts of Congress or other legislatures and court decisions to decide whether they’re Constitutional
46 Endnotes 47 Selected Bibliography 47 Websites 48 Index REFERENCE WE THE PEOPLE 9 JOHN MARSHALL 1800s chief justice 10 SAMUEL CHASE Impeached Supreme Court justice 19 BELVA LOCKWOOD First woman to argue before the Supreme Court 20 OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES JR The Great Dissenter 29 EARL WARREN 1950s and 60s chief justice 30 THURGOOD MARSHALL First black chief justice 39 ROE AND WADE The parties in the 1973 abortion case 40 SONIA SOTOMAYOR First Hispanic Supreme Court justice
INTRODUCTION William Marbury thought he had the job locked up THE U S SUPREME COURT President John Adams during his last days in office in 1801 had filed the papers to make Marbury a justice of the peace But the new pres ident Thomas Jefferson didn’t want Adams’s appointees around He purposely delayed the papers Before the Supreme Court Marbury ar gued that he’d been hired for the job The court agreed but said there was a little more to it The court found that the law setting up the se lection process was unconstitutional It tried to give the court powers beyond those granted by the United States Constitution Therefore the court didn’t have the power to help Marbury However it claimed a more profound power for itself the ability to judge whether laws passed by the people are legal to say what the law is That landmark opinion made the Supreme Court an equal among the three branches of the U S government 4
The Supreme Court met at the U S Capitol from 1801 to 1935
