George Smith
ITAH
June 20, 2011
 STANDARD: 11.1.3
 Understand the history of the Constitution after 1787
with emphasis on federal versus state authority and
growing democratization.
OBJECTIVES
To list the central issues in Marbury v. Madison and the significance
of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
To explain how Marbury v. Madison became the basis for judicial
review in the American political system.
Language Objectives
Language Learners will be able to define the following terms:
Significance
American political system
Central issues
Federal authority
What were the Alien and Sedition Acts?
What were the differences between the Federalists and the
Democrat-Republicans?
Vocabulary!
Judicial review
Opinion
Partisan politics
Federalists
Democrat-Republicans
“midnight justices”
Group Vocabulary Report
In class groups define and explain the significance of each of the three vocabulary
terms assigned to the group.
Choose a group spokesperson who will report to the class.
Adams v. Jefferson
As a Federalist, Adams favored a stronger central government.
Jefferson, a Democrat-Republican favored stronger states’ powers.
In the election of 1800 each party tried to portray the other as “extreme”:
Adams was called a “tool of the rich who wanted to turn the executive branch into
a British style monarch”. (pg. 113)
Jefferson was “a dangerous supporter of revolutionary France and an atheist”,
according to the Federalists. (pg. 113)
Central issues in Marbury v. Madison
Adam’s “Midnight Justices”
 Just before Adams left
office he appointed
many Federalist to
judgeships.
 One of these was
William Marbury
 Marbury’s commission
was not delivered to him
before Adams left office.
 President Jefferson’s new
secretary of state, James
Madison, refused to give
the commission to
Marbury
Central issues in Marbury v. Madison
Marbury’s Claim
 William Marbury asked
the Supreme Court to
force Madison to give
him his commission as a
judge.
 Marbury’s reason for
asking this was based on
the Judiciary Act of 1789.
John Marshall- 1st Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court
Painting by
Rembrandt Peale
Central issues in Marbury v. Madison
The Supreme Court, in 1803, ruled that part of the Judiciary Act of
1789 was “unconstitutional”.
Chief Justice Marshall wrote that since the Constitution is the
“supreme law of the land, no law that goes against the
Constitution can be valid.”
This ruling established the concept of
Judicial Review.
Explain how Marbury v. Madison became the
basis for Judicial Review
Under what part of the Constitution did the Supreme Court derive its
power of “Judicial Review”?
Is “Judicial Review” even mentioned in the Constitution?
In groups, students will analyze Article 3, Section 1 and 2 of the
Constitution.
Students may use the Internet to research the topic and read articles
related to “Judicial Review”.
…how Marbury v. Madison became the basis for Judicial Review
http://www.lawnix.com/cases/marbury-madison.html
http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/supreme_court/landmark/marb
ury.html
http://www.historycentral.com/nn/marbury.html
http://larivierelaw.org/famous_judicial_quotes.aspx
The idea of judicial review established the Supreme Court’s
importance as the 3rd co-equal branch of government. The
American system of checks and balances ensures that the
Judiciary is enabled to balance the other branches of
government.
Homework!
Students will create a three-fold brochure that illustrates the concepts of the
Power point lesson:
Outside page: A picture and student and class information
Inside pages:
Left: List at least two of the central issues in Marbury v. Madison
Middle: A brief description of ONE example of one other use of Judicial Review
by the Supreme Court
Right: A quote from John Marshall regarding the importance of Judicial Review.
Sample Brochure
Outside page:
Marbury v. Madison
and Judicial Review
US History
Mr. Smith
by
G Smith
June 21, 2011
(Left side)
William Marbury was denied his
appointment to a judgeship, and appealed
to the Supreme Court. His claim was based
on the Judiciary Act of 1789.
The Supreme Court ruled that part of the
Judiciary Act was “unconstitutional”.
This established the concept of “Judicial
Review” by the Supreme Court.
(Center)
In City of Berne v. Flores (1997),
the Supreme Court used Judicial
Review to declare the Religious
Freedom Restoration Act of 1993
to be unconstitutional.
The Court ruled that Congress has
no authority to interpret the
Constitution.
"It is emphatically the province and
duty of the judicial department to
say what the law is. Those who apply
the rule to particular cases, must of
necessity expound and interpret that
rule. If two laws conflict with each
other, the courts must decide on the
operation of each."
— Chief Justice John Marshall
Bilbliography
Danzer, Gerald A., et al. The Americans: Reconstruction to the 21st
Century. Evanston, Il. 2006
Lawnix.com. 2009. Accessed June 20, 2011.
<http://www.lawnix.com/cases/marbury-adison.html>
FindLaw. Reuters Business, Inc. 2009. Accessed June 20, 2011.
<http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/supreme_court/landmark/marbury.ht
ml>
HistoryCentral.com. 2008. Multieducator, Inc. Accessed June 20, 2011.
<http://www.historycentral.com/nn/marbury.html>
Lavierrelaw.org. LaVierre, Jr, Maurice. Accessed June 21, 2011.
<http://larivierelaw.org/famous_judicial_quotes.aspx>