Obama’s Supreme Court Nomination in 2016 is Reminiscent of 1801
Summary: Since the death of Antonin Scalia, President Obama has nominated the Chief Judge of the Washington D.C. District Court of Appeals, Merrick Garland. This appointment is vaguely familiar of the appointment of Justice John Marshall in 1801 by John Adams. John Marshall was appointed in an election year, like Garland, and was nominated by a president soon to leave from unpopularity, who would not earn a second. Adams was voted against by the people which rejected him and the Federalist Party,however Adams didn’t bat an eye when nominating Marshall. Marshall was an Anti-Federalist who favored a strong central government, and despised Jefferson and the Federalists. The Senate confirmed Marshall unanimously just five weeks before Thomas Jefferson was to be inaugurated. "More than anyone else, Marshall turned the Supreme Court into an independent and co-equal branch of government, and the final arbiter of what was and what was not constitutional. Under his leadership, the Supreme Court became a major player in defining the American nation.” Marshall voted in many important cases including the famous cases of McCulloch v. Maryland and Marbury v. Madison. He was known for giving the federal government more power at the expense of the states. Marshall is one of the many reasons why Republicans with a string sense of history will oppose Garland’s nomination.
Class Connections: The unit in class that we have been focusing on of late has been the judiciary, or the judicial branch of the U.S government. Specifically, we have been learning about the Supreme Court. John Marshall, who is the main person of importance in this article, has been a major figure we have studied because of his importance in shaping the Supreme Court, and the national government. Marshall, through many different cases, gave more power to the national government over the states in situations that included interstate commerce, taxation, and more. We have also talked about the death of Justice Scalia and how President Obama is having a difficult time due to the Republican majority in the House and Senate.
My Opinion: I personally think that Republicans are causing too much commotion and creating pointless problems in the nomination of the successor to Antonin Scalia. President Obama has the power and the authority to present a candidate for the SC who will act on the needs of this country. I think it is the job of Congress to stop the commotion and agree on Judge Garland. The only reason why they won’t have Garland elected is for petty personal matters concerning the fact that the candidate will bring a liberal majority to the Court. It is definitely a little bit ridiculous.
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