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John Marshall Supreme Court Case Essay

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John Marshall Supreme Court Case Essay
One Supreme Court member that stands out from the rest would have to be John Marshall. There is no doubt about this because he made the Supreme Court a co-equal branch of government. This means that it was an equal branch to the legislative and the executive. He became a Supreme Court Justice in 1801 and was appointed by John Adams. While holding his position he set three major goals that set precedents and made him the most significant Supreme Court Justice ever. Marshall strengthened the national government, weakened the state government, and strengthened the conditions for business and stabilized the economy. Before John Marshall was the Supreme Court Justice, there were attempts to balance the Court which had failed. His decisions were ones that were landmarks in court cases.

Strengthening the national government meant expanding the authority of the Supreme Court and also expanding the power of Congress. Marshall did this in three main court cases with the first one taking place in 1803. It was the case of Marbury v. Madison. Judicial review was established in this case when the Judiciary Act of 1801 was considered unconstitutional. In the case of McCulloch v. Maryland, Maryland tries to get rid of the Bank of the U.S. which would weaken the central government. Marshall says that Hamilton’s use of implied powers was constitutional and that “the power to create implies the power to preserve.” The case of Cohens v. Virginia strengthened the national government by expanding the power of Congress. It did so when Cohen was accused of selling lottery tickets without the states permission. The state ruled it against the law, but Marshall overturned it saying it was necessary and proper which shows that the Federal government overrules the state government.

The state government needed to be weakened in order to balance out the powers between the federal and state government. John Marshall helped do so in these cases. McCulloch v. Maryland not only expanded

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