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The Great Decision: Jefferson, Adams, Marshall, and the Battle for the Supreme Court
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Product Description
The Great Decision tells the riveting story of Marshall and of the landmark court case, Marbury v. Madison, through which he empowered the Supreme Court and transformed the idea of the separation of powers into a working blueprint for our modern state. Rich in atmospheric detail, political intrigue, and fascinating characters, The Great Decision is an illuminating tale of America’s formative years and of the evolution of our democracy.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #42714 in Books
- Published on: 2009-03-02
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 288 pages
Features
- ISBN13: 9781586484262
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Editorial Reviews
From The Washington Post
From The Washington Post's Book World/washingtonpost.com Reviewed by David C. Frederick A cornerstone of our democratic republic is judges' ability to decide cases challenging the constitutionality of congressional statutes and executive-branch actions. But the Constitution's framers left the existence and scope of that power ambiguous, and it took a Supreme Court decision to establish the arrangement we now take for granted. For the first three presidential election cycles, dominated by George Washington and the Federalists, such matters were of little practical concern. But the 1800 election unveiled schisms in the body politic that produced the most important decision in the Supreme Court's history, Marbury v. Madison. The case originated in the final days of John Adams's presidency, when he tried to appoint as many Federalists as possible to positions established in legislation passed by the outgoing Federalist-majority Congress. A handful of commissions for justice of the peace remained undelivered when incoming Democratic-Republican President Thomas Jefferson took office. Jefferson ordered his secretary of state, James Madison, not to deliver them, and a disgruntled office seeker, William Marbury, sued to have his commission honored. In "The Great Decision," Cliff Sloan and David McKean draw primarily on secondary sources, along with some contemporary newspaper accounts, to paint a vivid picture of intense political conflicts between the Federalists and Jeffersonians. In so doing, they skillfully present the reader with a political thriller. Less successful are the authors' attempts to answer the crucial questions of how and why Chief Justice Marshall fashioned his brilliant holding in the case. The Court denied Marbury his commission because the Act of Congress underlying the suit unconstitutionally sought to expand the Supreme Court's jurisdiction. The case established a great principle, that "it is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is," as Marshall wrote, and that "if two laws conflict with each other, the courts must decide on the operation of each." But in doing so, as the authors note, "bizarrely, the Supreme Court had to rule against itself." Walking a tightrope, Marshall's opinion for the Court asserted the pre-eminence of the Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution while avoiding a confrontation with the executive branch. If the authors may be faulted for not offering a definitive account of the historical sources of Marshall's inspired decision-making, their book provides a colorful description of the tumultuous times in which the Court rendered its landmark judgment. And the book's implicit references and comparisons to our own politically divisive times will not be lost on the attentive reader.
Copyright 2009, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* In 1800, when Thomas Jefferson took office as third president of the U.S., it represented the first peaceful transfer of power from one party to another in the new nation, but it also aggravated growing tensions between the outgoing Federalists and the incoming Republicans. The nascent U.S. Supreme Court, led by John Marshall, Jefferson’s distant cousin and sometime antagonist, was caught in the middle when a case pitting the two political parties against each other landed before the court. Marbury v. Madison challenged Jefferson’s authority to rebuff the court-packing efforts of outgoing President Adams. Sloan and McKean begin by detailing the behind-the-scenes machinations attending the transfer of power to Jefferson. They go on to focus on the particulars of the Marbury case and Marshall’s efforts to shape the court’s tradition by wearing black robes, deliberating, and balancing politics against legal equity, to establish gravitas for an institution that had been a laughingstock. An astute politician, Marshall managed to avoid a confrontation with Jefferson but firmly established the Supreme Court as the last word in interpreting the Constitution. In this highly accessible book, the authors skillfully build suspense and tension around an outcome readers may already know. --Vanessa Bush
Review
“Former Supreme Court clerk and Slate publisher Sloan and veteran political aide McKean bring to life one of the most important legal cases in American history…. Sloan and McKean supply Marbury’s historical context and unravel the complex fabric of personalities, politics and law that animated the case…. The authors’ enthusiasm and clear prose vivify the contention that, as Marshall said, ‘It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.’ A crisp, color examination of the case that established the formidable power of the federal judiciary.”
Walter Isaacson, author of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
“The Supreme Court case of Marbury v. Madison is the most important key to understanding the separation of power in American government. The Great Decision makes the tale come alive. It’s filled with intrigue, colorful personalities, and political maneuvers that seem astonishingly relevant to our world today.”
Douglas Brinkley, Professor of History at Rice University
“What a deeply intelligent and well written analysis of the Madison v. Marbury case. Anyone interested in constitutional law must read this fine book by Cliff Sloan and David McKean.”
Laurence H. Tribe, Carl M. Loeb University Professor, Harvard Law School
“As our nation emerges from a dark decade of disrespect for the Constitution, nothing could be more fitting than a new picture of the great decision that made the rule of law a living part of the American legacy. Forests have been felled writing about that decision as a legal landmark, but its place in the turbulent politics and psychology of the time has never been painted in colors more vivid than those with which Sloan and McKean created this historic portrait.”
Ken Burns, Filmmaker
“Cliff Sloan and David McKean have taken the story of Marbury v. Madison and revealed it to be what it always was: a drama of the first order—superbly and fluidly rendered here—and a decision that would cement the power of the third and most neglected leg of the tripod that still to this day supports us all."
Booklist, 3/1
“In this highly accessible book, the authors skillfully build suspense and tension around an outcome readers may already know.”
Jan Crawford Greenburg, ABC’s Legal Correspondent, ABC.com, February 25, 2009
“Whoever thought that Marbury v Madison could be a page turner? Landmark constitutional law, yes, but a nail-biting drama crafted in dimly lit hotel rooms in Washington? Filled with memorable players such as "Old Bacon Face" Justice Samuel Chase and a slovenly Thomas Jefferson? Cliff Sloan and David McKean's new book, The Great Decision, tells a wonderful tale of how the decision -- which established that the Supreme Court had the power to declare an act of Congress unconstitutional -- came to be. To produce this impressive and gripping narrative, they culled newspaper accounts and diaries and conducted a wide-ranging array of interviews, including with Justice John Paul Stevens, who went back and analyzed his law school notes -- which he apparently has kept all these years.”
Library Journal, 3/1
“A lucid and compelling account of the well-known but seldom understood court battle that secured the place of the judiciary as a coordinate branch of the federal government…. Sloan and McKean have given generalists and academics alike a fascinating, straightforward narrative.”
Customer Reviews
A Worthy Read
Attempting to shed light on one of the most important judicial decisions, "The Great Decision" is an easy read for those looking to gain a better understanding of early 19th century American politics. My biggest complaint, if you will, is that the coverage of the book wasn't exactly what the title depicted.
The authors spend most (at least 2/3) of their time discussing the election of 1800 and the tumultuous political atmosphere that followed. Marbury v. Madison was certainly an integral part of this early stage in American history, but the authors seem to focus upon the thoughts and actions of Jefferson, Adams, and--to some extent--Marshall. As the authors jumped from tangent to tangent, I often found myself wondering how a each interlude fit within the bigger picture. Sure, these were interesting anecdotes and somewhat entertaining, but I wondered if they were included only to fill up the 190 pages of the narrative, as they did little but reinforce what the authors already discussed.
The portions of the book that discussed the Marbury's trial, the decision-making process, and the actual decision, are EXCELLENT--this is what I was after in reading the book! The authors provide great organization and commentary of Marshall's opinion and provide a succinct and useful analysis of the decision's impact. The analysis included a few comments from current Justices, which provided a nice and relevant touch.
Notably, the authors provide a summary of the five core criticisms of the decision. This brief discussion opened my eyes to a new way of analyzing the decision; I only wish the authors would have spent a little more time discussing the critiques.
This book is certainly worth the read, but the first half (at least) seems to read like a more generic historical narrative of the "Revolution of 1800." With that said, I certainly appreciate the effort the authors gave in highlighting a case that, in my humble opinion, is far too under-appreciated.
A great book on the battle for the Supreme Court
This is a great book if you love the Supreme Court and the history of our country. It is an entire book on Marbury v. Madison. I had no idea how close we came to making the Supreme Court a weak sister to Congress and the Executive Branch. The book details the Judiciary Act of 1801 which created a whole bunch of new judgeships (and Circuit Courts of Appeal) by the Federalist Congress right before John Adams left the presidency filling the new positions on his way out. The Republicans took over Congress and Thomas Jefferson, resenting the fact that the Federalists would control the judiciary for a long time, exhorted the now Republican Congress to repeal the Judiciary Act of 1801 and pitch out most of the so-called midnight judges. In the meantime, William Marbury sued the Secretary of State, James Madison, demanding that he be ordered to deliver the judicial commission. The suit was filed by Marbury in the Supreme Court because the Judiciary Act of 1791 authorized certain suits to be filed directly with the Supreme Court. Worrying about the courts getting too strong, Congress did repeal the Judiciary Act of 1801 and changed the Supreme Court "sessions" so that Marbury v. Madison could not be heard until Feb 1803. In the meantime, Stuart v. Laird was filed challenging the power of Congress to repeal the act which in effect removed 16 or so judges who had been appointed "for life" under the Act.
Given the incredible atmosphere, Marshall crafted an incredible decision striking down the portion of the 1791 Act giving the Supreme Court original jursidiction over certain actions. A few days later the Supreme Court, without Marshall who had recused himself since he was the trial judge (on Circuit) in the Stuart v. Laird trial, agreed with the Marshall lower court ruling that Congress had the power to repeal its act.
The book is easy to read and fascinating and I highly recommend it. I am a student of John Marshall and most books on him and the era are so heavily slanted to the constitutional law scholar that I wind up skimming much of the book. If you wants lots of heavy legal analysis, there are lots of law review articles you can read. If you want a sense of what was going on at the time, who the players were and how they interacted with each other in 200 pages, this is the book.
Jon Hayes [...]
A Capsule of Con Law's Birth
I am not a big fan of the catalogue-style of early American history. Sloan and McKean do a great job of grounding a lot of trivial (first occupant of the White House?), big picture (Republicans versus Federalists and national debt), and personal (Hamilton versus Burr; Jefferson and Adams; Marshal) historical info of the Founders and early post-confederacy days in this story of the case that created Con Law.
If you have already read the case annd understand its significance to the creation of the doctrine of judicial review, this book is a great sort of behind-the-curtain glimpse at the personalities and politics that the case played out against. Sometimes it gets a little too deep down into the weeds: Dolly Madison and Abigail Adams get a little too much time for my tastes; but, all in all its a quick-reading quasi-intellectual pop history of a critical case and pivotal time in American law and politics.
I agree with several of the other reviews in that this is not a rigorous look at Marbury v Madison, what it means and what might have been. But, I don't think that was the intention, so you cannot mark down too much for the failure to meet that mark.
