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The Three Branches of Government
John Marshall: Champion of a Strong Central Government
The judicial branch interprets the meaning of laws, applies them to individual cases, and decided if they violate the Constitution.
"The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish."
-- The US Constitution, Article II
John Marshall strengthened federal power by establishing the right of the Supreme Court to overrule unconstitutional executive and legislative legal action and unconstitutional state laws. In Marbury v. Madison, he empowered the Court to be the final arbiter of the constitutionality of federal law. In McCullough v. Maryland, Marshall rejected the doctrine that powers not specifically given to the federal government belong to the states. |