winterbadger | (no subject)

at the Alexandria Lyceum on 28 October:

The Great Decision: Jefferson, Adams, Marshall, and the Battle for the Supreme Cour, presented by the Alexandria Historical Society. Cliff Sloan, co-author of The Great Decision: Jefferson, Adams, Marshall, and the Battle for the Supreme Court, will tell the exciting story of Marbury v. Madison, probably the most important Supreme Court decision in the history of the United States

Marbury v. Madison established the power of the Supreme Court to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional. But it is also an Alexandria story. Three of the four plaintiffs (Dennis Ramsay, Robert Townshend Hooe, and William Harper) were Alexandrians, and the attorney for the plaintiffs (Charles Lee) was an Alexandrian. Important events leading up to the case took place in Alexandria.

The capital of Washington, like the country, was divided and enraptured by the public spat between the parties who has just fought America’s first contested election. Newspapers took highly partisan sides, senators insulted each other to the point of violence, and the Adams government was so near to collapse that a second revolution seemed possible.

John Marshall realized that he could in one ruling dismiss the merits of Jefferson’s case, strike down an act of Congress, and place the Supreme Court above the fray. Thus, Marshall established the power of the Supreme Court to be the last word on constitutionality – a stroke that dramatically enhanced the Court and laid the cornerstone of the distinctive American rule of law. Cliff Sloan is a magna cum laude graduate of both Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He has argued before the Supreme Court five times, open to the public, no reservations needed, open seating . The capacity of the Lyceum lecture hall is 140 persons, 7:30 PM, Free