Marbury vs.

Madison
On February 24, 1803, history was made. Chief Justice John Marshall and the rest of the
Supreme Court had listened to the case of William Marbury, who had accused Secretary of State
James Madison of not delivering his commission to become Justice of the Peace for the District
of Columbia. In a landmark decision, the Court decided that the act Marbury was basing his
claim on was itself unconstitutional, a move that forever changed the power of the judicial
branch and made Marbury vs. Madison one of the most famous cases in American history.
It was the year 1800. Jefferson had just beaten John Adams, a Federalist and bitter
opponent, for the seat of presidency. Resentful and determined to keep as much Federalist power
in the government as possible, Adams appointed several circuit judges and justices of the peace
to office during the last days of his presidency. One of these judges was William Marbury.
However, commissions had to be delivered to those being appointed for the action to be valid,
and a large majority of them were before Jefferson became president. Afterwards, Jefferson
ordered the commissions not to be delivered, which made it impossible for those judges to take
their positions.
Marbury, one of the judges whose commission was not delivered, appealed to the Court
to write a legal order (writ of mandamus) forcing the Secretary of State, James Madison, to
deliver the commissions and make them valid. It had been the Secretary of States job to deliver
the commissions before, do Marbury felt that Madison should be held responsible for them.
Marbury used the Judiciary Act of 1789, which gave the Court the power of original jurisdiction
(appealing directly to the Supreme Court) over petitions for writs of mandamus, as support for
his case. On February 11, 1803, Chief Justice Marshall began the hearings.
What came next was a monumental moment that defined the power of the Supreme
Court. Although Marshall agreed that Marbury had the right to petition a writ of mandamus, and
that there should be a remedy for him, he found that the act Marbury was basing his claim on
was unconstitutional. The Judiciary Act of 1789 did allow the Court to exercise original
jurisdiction over writs of mandamus, but, per the Constitution, cases of original jurisdiction only
worked for certain kinds of cases. Marshall stated that the legislative branch had overreached its
power by making Marbury vs. Madison a case that the Court could review over original
jurisdiction.
Marbury did not get his commission and never became a Justice of the Peace for the
District of Columbia, but the case extended far beyond his job. This case established that the
Supreme Court had the power of judicial review (reviewing the actions of the other branches, as
it did with the legislative in Marbury vs. Madison), and that the Court had the ability to override
the other branches of government if upholding the Constitution, giving the branch equal power.
It also implied that the Court was the sole interpreter of the Constitution. Marbury vs. Madison
set many precedents for future cases, and the Court still uses it to show the extent of their
authority today.
The 12
th
Amendment
The U.S. Constitution is much improved from the Articles of Confederation, and many
parts of the original version are still in law today, there were many problems with it in the
beginning. Many parts of it have been amended, but perhaps one of the more important
amendments is the 12
th
Amendment, which helped to correct the way elections and the voting of
the president and vice president were carried out. This was inspired by the confusing and
complicated elections of 1796 and 1800, and it is still in effect today.
Before the 12
th
Amendment had been proposed and ratified, elections were carried out by
way of the Electoral College, which allowed two votes per voter. The two people a voter would
vote for couldnt inhabit the same state as him, to avoid every person voting for candidates form
their own state. In the end, the candidate with the most votes that held the majority would win. If
there happened to be more than one candidate that had the majority vote, then the House of
Representatives vote for which one becomes president. If no one happens to have majority, then
the House would vote for a president within the top five most voted-for candidates. There must
be a majority in the House. In choosing the vice president, the person with the greatest amount of
votes (besides the president) would win. If there is more than one person with the most votes,
then the Senate would vote.
The problems began in the election of 1796, when John Adams was voted for as
president. Since the second most voted-for person was Thomas Jefferson, he became the vice
president. This was problematic, since both had completely different views and had been
opponents for the entire election. This, no doubt, led to difficulties in government and made it
less efficient. In the election of 1800, both Jefferson and Burr tied for the presidency. The voting
went to the House of Representatives, where Federalists voted for Burr out of spite. Because of
this, Jefferson did not get the majority of 9 state votes that he needed, and another election in the
House was required for him to become president.
After the 12
th
Amendment was passed, the elections were made easier and fewer
malfunctions were likely to occur. It caused there to be a separate vote for president and vice
president, and that at least one of the candidates voted for had to be from another state than the
one the voter was currently living in. This continued to prevent everybody from voting for
people in their own state, and it made it impossible for the president and vice president to tie for
presidency. It also made it unlikely that there would be a president and vice president from
opposing parties. Dealing with ties was the same as before, though, if no one has the majority,
then the House would pick from the top three instead of the top five. The way a vice president
was chosen in the case of no majority was changed, as well, with the Senate voting between the
two candidates with the greatest amount of votes. If there was more than one person who had
gotten the second greatest amount of votes, then the Senate would decide which candidates
would be eligible for voting. Also, in the case that the Legislative branch couldnt decide who
would become president by the day of his/her first day in office, then the vice president would
take office as president. If neither the president nor vice president had been chosen, then the
legislative branch would choose a president until another person who is eligible for presidency
could take over. In the last couple of decades, it has become customary for the president to have
a running mate that will be their vice president.
The 12
th
Amendment has changed the way elections have taken places ever since 1804.
Very few incidents have occurred that have challenged the 12
th
Amendment, making it a stable
change to the Constitution. It has minimized confusion for voters and candidates alike, and it
makes the election process comparatively easy. It is working and will continue to work for a long
time into the future, making it one of Americas most beneficial amendments to the Constitution.