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Social Studies 4: Expanding the Power of the National Government 7 Views
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Description:
Today's lesson is all about government superpowers. You know, like the power to be super...executive. Or super judgey. Okay, so it's not exactly a Marvel movie, but at least this stuff really happened.
Transcript
- 00:03
[Coop and Dino singing]
- 00:12
Look, up in the sky! It's a bird…it's a plane, it's… [People flying with capes]
- 00:15
It's the super team of our three branches of government.
- 00:18
Not quite as impressive as Superman, sure, but still pretty dang powerful.
- 00:21
But the distribution of power that's in place right now wasn't quite how the Constitution
Full Transcript
- 00:26
originally set things up.
- 00:27
Yup.
- 00:28
Like every good superhero tale, this one has quite the origin story. [Superheroes appear]
- 00:32
Y’see, it all started back in 1803 with a pretty famous court case, Marbury v. Madison.
- 00:36
But before we dive into that, let’s skip back just a little further to 1800. [Dinosuar appears in 1800's]
- 00:41
There we go.
- 00:41
It’s 1800, and John Adams is the president.
- 00:44
But his presidency is coming to an end and Thomas Jefferson is eager to replace him. [Adams sitting in President's office and Jefferson appears at the window]
- 00:48
Johnny boy knows that as soon as Tommy's in office, it'll also mean that a new political party
- 00:54
will have control over the national government.
- 00:56
So before he packs up and leaves, John decides to make a series of “midnight appointments” [John working at midnight in the office]
- 01:01
––a desperate, last minute attempt to fill as many government offices as possible
- 01:05
with people who shared Adams’ political beliefs.
- 01:08
Adams, you sly dog, you.
- 01:10
Now remember: this was before email, texting, or snapchat.
- 01:14
These appointments had to be delivered the old-fashioned way: In person.
- 01:17
So Adams wakes up his Secretary of State, John Marshall, who is pretty grumpy about [Adams knocks on John Marshalls door and John appears]
- 01:21
having his beauty sleep interrupted, and tells him to go and deliver the appointments.
- 01:25
Then Adams toodles off to get his beauty rest.
- 01:28
Sly dog…
- 01:29
Marshall does his best, but he's not able to deliver all the appointments before Adams’ [Marshall delivering appointments]
- 01:33
term expires.
- 01:34
Give the guy a break, he's half asleep!
- 01:36
Marshall leaves the final appointments in the hands of the new Secretary of State, James
- 01:40
Madison.
- 01:41
Except new President Thomas Jefferson isn’t having it.
- 01:44
After all, Jefferson's President now, so he gets to make the rules, right?
- 01:47
Well, not everybody agrees with Jefferson’s decision.
- 01:49
Someone who really doesn't agree?
- 01:51
This guy, William Marbury…. [Marbury stood by a mail box]
- 01:53
…who just happens to be one of the people Marshall failed to deliver an appointment to.
- 01:57
So Marbury sues Madison, and tries to get the Supreme Court of the United States to
- 02:01
force Madison to hand over the paper with the appointment.
- 02:04
Yeah, that’s right: just the paper showing he’d been offered it, not the actual position.
- 02:08
Maybe he wanted to show off at parties?
- 02:10
But here's where the plot thickens…
- 02:12
Chief Justice John Marshall – uh-huh, the same John Marshall who failed to deliver the [John Marshall in court bangs gavel]
- 02:17
appointment in the first place is now Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
- 02:20
And guess what?
- 02:21
He doesn’t rule in Marbury’s favor –
- 02:23
-- and he also rules that the law which Marbury used to sue Madison with was unconstitutional, [Marbury crying in court]
- 02:28
no take-backsies.
- 02:28
Guess he was still grumpy over the whole "no sleep" thing.
- 02:31
So with this ruling, Chief Justice Marshall established what we now call “judicial review,”
- 02:35
which is the power of the Supreme Court to declare laws unconstitutional.
- 02:38
Some historians and political scientists claim this move expanded the Supreme Court’s power
- 02:43
so immensely that it upset the balance between the three branches of government. [Branches of government on a scale]
- 02:47
Others recognize Marshall’s act of judicial review as a necessary and proper change that
- 02:51
brought about justice in cases like Brown v. Board of Education, where the Supreme Court
- 02:56
ruled segregation in schools unconstitutional by using…you guessed it….judicial review!
- 03:01
So there ya have it.
- 03:02
Marbury v. Madison forever changed the way the Supreme Court – and the national government [Marbury and Madison bickering either side of judicial review man]
- 03:05
as a whole – works.
- 03:07
Y’know, when they decide to work at all…
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