John Marshall’s Impact on American Politics Essay Example

📌Category: Government, Historical Figures, History, History of the United States, Politics, United States, World
📌Words: 570
📌Pages: 3
📌Published: 17 April 2022

John Marshall’s impact on American politics still has an effect today.  John Marshall presided over some of the most important and influential cases in American history.  John Marshall used his platform to solidify the legitimacy of the United States Judicial system.  John Marshall’s most important cases were the cases of Fletcher v. Peck, McCulloch v. Maryland, Dartmouth College v. Woodward, and Gibbons v. Ogden.  The first major court case that John Marshall presided over was Fletcher v. Peck.  In Fletcher v. Peck, John Peck sold Robert Fletcher land, and Fletcher later found out that the land had been voided by state law.  The case was brought to the supreme court that the state of Georgia could not void the land because of the contract clause in the constitution.  This case was a strict interpretation of the constitution, and it set up how states and private landowners do business to this day.  The second big case that John Marshall looked over was the case of McCulloch v. Maryland.  James William McCulloch was the creator of the first ever national bank in the state of Maryland.  Maryland didn’t like the national bank imposing itself on Maryland, so they passed a law so that the money going out of that national bank would be taxed, and this would run the bank out of town.  James McCulloch eventually went to the supreme court to judge on whether or not this law that Maryland made was constitutional.  John Marshall ruled for the national bank, and said that Maryland could not tax this national bank.  This ruling had a big impact on federalism in America.  The third big court case that John Marshall ruled over was Dartmouth College v. Woodward.  In 1819, the state of New Hampshire attempted to turn Dartmouth college into a state university.  The leader in this change was the man William Woodward.  Dartmouth brought this case to the supreme court where John Marshall and the other judges ruled in favor of Dartmouth, stating that the state could not meddle in private affairs.  This case made a big impact on how private businesses and companies were able to conduct business.  The fourth and final case was the case of Gibbons v. Ogden.  Thomas Gibbons and Aaron Ogden were partners running a steamboat business in New York.  Their partnership eventually ended, and Ogden got control of the steamboat business in New York.  However, Gibbons still sent his boats from New Jersey to New York, and Ogden didn’t like this.  Ogden kicked Gibbons out of New York, and Gibbons appealed to the supreme court.  John Marshall and the supreme court eventually ruled in favor of Gibbons, and this case had a major impact on interstate trade and commerce.  John Marshall had a major impact on many different aspects of American life, but his biggest impact was the power that he gave to the national government, and especially the judicial branch.  John Marshall was always more of a national government kind of person, and he made decisions that impacted the power of the national government to this day.  When Marshall ruled in favor of McCulloch in that case, he gave power to the national government.  When he ruled in favor of Dartmouth, he gave power to the private businesses over the states.  In Fletcher v. Peck, he ruled against the state of Georgia, and he again ruled against the state in Gibbons v. Ogden.  John Marshall’s lasting impact on America was the power he gave to the government, and the power he gave the people.

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