The Case That Gave the Modern Supreme Court Its Power

Shereen Mahdi-Somiraji (0:00)

Hey, everybody, I'm Shereen Mahdi-Somiraji. I'm a journalist and a professor based in California.

Matt Beat (0:06)

And I'm Matt Beat. I'm a history teacher and YouTuber based in Kansas.

Shereen Mahdi-Somiraji (0:10)

And we're co-hosts of the ACLU podcast Let The Record Show, where every episode, we explore a case from US history.

Matt Beat (0:20)

Cases that shape how we live our lives today.

Shereen Mahdi-Somiraji (0:22)

Even if we don't realize it.

Matt, I see you're working on something right now. What is it?

Matt Beat (0:35)

Oh, it was nothing. Just a little script.

Shereen Mahdi-Somiraji (0:38)

For the podcast?

Matt Beat (0:39)

Actually, it's a bit more theatrical. I'm writing, I'm writing, okay, I'm writing a musical.

Shereen Mahdi-Somiraji (0:47)

I'm not following.

Matt Beat (0:48)

It's kind of like Hamilton meets Mean Girls.

Shereen Mahdi-Somiraji (0:52)

You're writing a musical? I love that you have a creative outlet, but our civil liberties are being taken away from us as we speak.

Matt Beat (1:01)

Yeah, it's fair to be concerned, Shereen, but don't worry, that's why we're here. This podcast is all about understanding our history and how the courts work. It's also what my musical is about. I've been writing about Marbury versus Madison. It's a case that gave the Supreme Court the relevance and power it has today.

Plus, it's got drama, petty drama. I tell you what, let's learn about this case before I continue with my musical. And I promise we'll let the record show that the more we understand the Supreme Court's power, the better we can check it and balance it.

Shereen Mahdi-Somiraji (1:38)

All right, I think I might be sold. I love petty drama. Everybody who knows me knows that. So this is like the history channel with a dose of reality TV plus a foundational guide to put some of this chaos into context.

Matt Beat (1:56)

So today's episode, for all its pomp and circumstance, actually begins with a hiring dispute. A little workplace drama.

The year is 1801 It's March. We're in Washington, DC, our nation's capital. And President John Adams is days away from handing over the keys to the White House to Thomas Jefferson.

Shereen Mahdi-Somiraji (2:19)

Oh, I wish I was a fly on the wall of this scene.

Matt Beat (2:22)

Actually, it would have been a great wall to be a fly on.

John Adams moved into a brand new White House. It was still under construction, fresh paint, everything brand new. Now, this election, though, between Adams and Jefferson was particularly nasty. The election of 1800 We often talk about the founding fathers as some monolithic group, but Jefferson and Adams were on opposite ends of the aisle. Big TJ was a Democratic Republican and Adams was a Federalist. So when the Federalists lost control of both the presidency and Congress in 1800, it was a big deal.

Shereen Mahdi-Somiraji (2:59)

So today in the United States, we have a two-party system. I think everybody knows that. But the parties have evolved over time. And back in these days, how would you characterize Jefferson and Adams parties?

Matt Beat (3:11)

One distinction is that Adams and the Federalists wanted a strong, centralized, federal government, hence the name Federalists. And on the other side, you had Jefferson and the Democratic Republicans, who were actually originally called the Anti-Federalists.

They were more in favor of states' rights. They wanted a looser system of power at the top.

Shereen Mahdi-Somiraji (3:34)

I got it.

Matt Beat (3:35)

So those are the two teams. Yeah. And also the Federalists were kind of like the status quo party, political party at the time. Democratic Republicans were more of the change. The Federalists wanted to make a lasting impact before they left office. So less than a month before Inauguration Day, they made a big move with, cue the smooth jazz music here, some midnight appointments.

Get it? Because it was the last hour. That act allowed them to make 23 last-minute appointments, one of whom was a 38-year-old Georgetown businessman named Marbury. William Marbury.

Shereen Mahdi-Somiraji (4:15)

Ah. So in the world of your musical, Matt, Marbury is taking center stage, the spotlight's on him.

Matt Beat (4:25)

Every musical has to have some kind of hero, I guess. So I guess Marbury is the hero.

Shereen Mahdi-Somiraji (4:31)

You know, I wouldn't call any of these guys heroes because we know what they did. Yeah. But I digress.

Matt Beat (4:38)

Back to the musical here. It's Curtains Up. March 2nd, 1801 The Federalists appoint Marbury as a judge in a lower court. They rush his approval through on March 3rd because on March 4th, their opponents are set to take office.