The Supreme Court in the Early Republic
The Supreme Court in the Early Republic

Author: William R. Casto

Publisher: Univ of South Carolina Press

Published: 2012-11-01

Total Pages: 417

ISBN-13: 1611171695

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William R. Casto sheds a new light on America's federal judiciary and the changing legal landscape with his detailed examination of the Supreme Court's formative years. In a study that spans the period from the Court's tentative beginnings through the appointment of its third chief justice, Casto reveals a judicial body quite different in orientation and philosophy from the current Supreme Court and one with a legacy of enduring significance for the U.S. legal system. Casto portrays the founding of the Supreme Court as a conscious effort to help the newly established government deal more effectively with national security and foreign policy concerns, and he credits the Court with assisting the Washington and Adams administrations establish stable relationships with Great Britain and France. The initial debate over the Supreme Court's jurisdiction as well as over the method of selecting its justices is recalled here. Casto also reveals the philosophical mindset of the first Supreme Court, contrasting the eighteenth-century concept of natural law with the legal positivism on which the Supreme Court now relies. Using this historical context, he addresses the political controversy over federal common-law crimes, the drafting of the Judiciary Act of 1789, and the adoption of judicial review.

Jay and Ellsworth, The First Courts
Jay and Ellsworth, The First Courts

Author: Matthew P. Harrington

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2008-05-12

Total Pages: 327

ISBN-13: 1576078426

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A fascinating exploration of the first two Supreme Courts and how they laid the groundwork for the modern-day Court. When the Supreme Court was established in 1789, no other country had a judicial body quite like it. The early justices struggled to give definition to such concepts as "judicial review" and "separation of powers." The early court approached its role in ways that would be startling today, often using its power to support the new government rather than merely serving as an independent arbiter. The Jay-Ellsworth Courts were the first to take up the role of interpreting the constitution, and their approach influenced constitutional debates for the next two centuries. Clearly, this is a book for any reader who wishes to understand how the court was initially set up and how it functioned in our early judicial history.

The William and Mary Quarterly
The William and Mary Quarterly

Author: Richard Lee Morton

Publisher:

Published: 1953

Total Pages: 756

ISBN-13:

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Publishes refereed scholarship in history and related disciplines from initial Old World-New World contacts to the early nineteenth century and beyond. Its articles, notes and documents, and reviews range from British North America and the United States to Europe, West Africa, the Caribbean, and the Spanish American borderlands. Forums and topical issues address topics of active interest in the field.

The Failure of the Founding Fathers
The Failure of the Founding Fathers

Author: Bruce ACKERMAN

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2009-06-30

Total Pages: 395

ISBN-13: 0674020057

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Based on seven years of archival research, the book describes previously unknown aspects of the electoral college crisis of 1800, presenting a revised understanding of the early days of two great institutions that continue to have a major impact on American history: the plebiscitarian presidency and a Supreme Court that struggles to put the presidency's claims of a popular mandate into constitutional perspective. Through close studies of two Supreme Court cases, Ackerman shows how the court integrated Federalist and Republican themes into the living Constitution of the early republic.