 |
| Image Credit: U.S. Supreme Court |
William Marbury had been appointed a Justice of the Peace of the
District of Columbia by President John Adams under the Judiciary
Act of 1800. When Thomas Jefferson became President in 1801, Marbury's
commission had not been delivered, and Jefferson refused to have
it delivered. James Madison, Jefferson's Secretary of State, was
the person legally designated to deliver the commission and he
entirely supported Jefferson. Since Madison was responsible for
the delivery, Marbury sued him in the U.S. Supreme Court and thus
their names are forever attached to the landmark Supreme Court
case, Marbury v. Madison (1803).
Marbury was an ardent Federalist,
active in Maryland politics and aligned with John Adam's wing
of the party. He supported an effort to change the way the Electoral
College electors were selected in Maryland; a change that might
have defeated Thomas Jefferson and put John Adams back in the
White House for another four years. It is entirely understandable
that Jefferson and Madison were united against him and that they
would not have delivered the commission even if ordered to by
the Supreme Court.
Although he is famous in a sense, most people
who are familiar with the case do not even know his first name.
You do. You know that and a little more. If you wish to learn
more about Marbury, please read the excellent article, Marbury's
Travail, by David Forte.
|
