Johnson (1781-1850) proposed that more than a simple majority of judges must agree in order to declare a law unconstitutional. But the assertion of this power proved enormously controversial. In fact, the Supreme Court did not invalidate another act of Congress for half a century. This power, known as judicial review, provides the basis for the important place that the Supreme Court occupies in American life today. A landmark in American constitutional history, the decision asserted the power of federal courts to review the constitutionality of federal laws and to invalidate acts of Congress when they are found to conflict with the Constitution. He conceded Marbury's right to his appointment, but ruled that the court had no authority to order the Secretary of State to act, since the section of the Judiciary Act that gave the court the power to issue an order was unconstitutional. Madison, Marshall ingeniously expanded the court's power without directly provoking the Jeffersonians. If the Supreme Court ordered Madison to give Marbury the judgeship, the secretary of state was likely to ignore the court and Congress might limit the high court's power. The case threatened to provoke a direct confrontation between the judiciary and the Republicans. Madison refused and Marbury sued, claiming that under section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789, the justices could issue a court order compelling Madison to give him his judgeship. When Jefferson became president, Marbury demanded that the new Secretary of State, James Madison, issue the commission. Although approved by the Senate, Marbury never received his letter of appointment. John Adams had appointed a loyal Federalist, William Marbury (1761?-1835), to a judgeship at the very end of his term. Marshall delivered his first landmark opinion two years after joining the court. Out of his Revolutionary war experiences he became a staunch nationalist who distrusted state governments, which, he believed, had failed to support the soldiers.
During the Revolution, he led a company of riflemen and spent the terrible winter of 1777 at Valley Forge.
Marshall was born in the foothills of the Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains in 1755, far from the wealthy tobacco and slave Tidewater region of the state. During the 34 years he served as Chief Justice, he transformed the Supreme Court into a vigorous third branch of government.
The court was considered so insignificant that it held its sessions in a clerk's office in the basement of the Capitol. Presidents found it difficult to get people to serve as justices. When John Marshall (1755-1835) became the nation's fourth Chief Justice in 1801, the court lacked prestige and public respect.
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