Marbury v. Madison: the basics After the “Revolution of 1800,” John Adams created dozens of new “midnight” judges William Marbury was one of the potential judges, but the outgoing Secretary of State did not deliver the commission on time James Madison, the incoming Secretary of State and a Democratic-Republican, refused to deliver the commission Marbury sued to get his job commission, and the Supreme Court heard the case . . .

The important points: Chief Justice John Marshall refused Marbury his post, although Marshall said he was theoretically entitled to it. His reasoning was that a section of the Judiciary Act of 1789, which had established the federal court system, was “unconstitutional” . . . THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT THE COURT HAD OVERTURNED AN ACT OF CONGRESS “It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is . . . A law repugnant to the Constitution is void.”

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819): Maryland enacted a statute imposing a tax on all banks operating in Maryland not chartered by the state. Mr. McCulloch, cashier of the Baltimore branch of the B.U.S., failed to comply, and Maryland sued. The USSC Holding and Rule (Marshall): “Yes. Congress has power under the Constitution to incorporate a bank pursuant to the Necessary and Proper clause (Article I, section 8). No. The State of Maryland does not have the power to tax an institution created by Congress pursuant to its powers under the Constitution.”

Foreign Policy/Partisanship Terms: Balancing before 1812 … Jay’s Treaty (1794) Pinckney’s Treaty (1795) XYZ Affair (1797ish) “impressment” (1790s-18teens) The Embargo Act (1807) Non-Intercourse Act (1809) (define, with a sense of how each relates to balancing foreign policy between Brits and the French, as part of HW for Monday)

Why was there a War of 1812? English “impressment” of American sailors Western “War Hawks” who coveted the West and Canada Democratic-Republican control of the government Suspicion that the Indian peoples’ Western union, led by Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa, was aided by the British

Results of the War of 1812: The Treaty of Ghent (Dec. 1814) ended the war, leaving most of the war issues unresolved Clear US-Canadian boundaries are set, and the Great Lakes are demilitarized (Rush-Bagot Treaty) The Oregon territory is placed under joint US-British control Andrew Jackson becomes an instant national hero after the Battle of New Orleans (Jan. 1815)