The Constitution for the united States was a rule book written by the delegates of the states to establish a government with limited powers. It was created to protect the God given rights of the people and It was written to govern the government not the people. The government was to be the servant of the people and the guardian of their liberty.
They knew that governments that with unlimited power would deprive the people of the rights that they were created to protect. That is precisely why the Constitution granted to the government a short list of delegated powers. Any power that was not specifically enumerated in the Constitution was prohibited.
Alexander Hamilton and his Federalist allies wanted a much stronger central government than was authorized under the Constitution so he invented the doctrine of Implied Powers. He wanted the government officials to do whatever they deemed was for the greater good of the greater number. By accepting the notion that the government could do whatever they deemed was necessary and proper the power the government was able to claim the authority to assume powers that were not delegated to them in the Constitution.
The Constitution did not delegate to Congress the authority to establish and National Bank, but Hamilton and his friends convinced George Washington that the establishment of the Bank of the United States was both necessary and proper. This opened the door for Congress to whatever they wanted without Constitutional authority.
During the Presidency of Thomas Jefferson another precedent was set that weakened the Constitution and provided the Supreme Court with the power to expand the power of the central government. Supreme Court Justice John Marshall, who was politically aligned with Alexander Hamilton invented something that has become known as Judicial Review.
In Marbury Versus Madison in 1803, Marshall proclaimed that the Supreme Court had the implied authority to interpret the Constitution and decide what was and what was not Constitutional. This doctrine gave the court the power to amend the Constitution by interpreting it.
The Supreme Court was intended to be the weakest of the three branches of government, but thanks to the efforts of John Marshall, the Supreme Court has become the most powerful branch.
Thomas Jefferson's Supreme Court was stacked with judges that were political allies of Alexander Hamilton. They all wanted a stronger central government than provided for in the Constitution. While Jefferson believed in strict obedience to the Constitution was necessary, these Federalist Judges favored a loose interpretation that would allow them to have far greater power and authority expand the government of the United States. Jefferson tried to have Samuel Chase impeached for what he considered to be failing to faithfully preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. Jefferson was unsuccessful in his efforts and Chase continued to be a thorn in Jefferson's side.
In a Constitutional Republic the Constitution must be strictly obeyed to prevent the abuse of power by the men and women elected to serve. In a Corporate Democracy it is essential that the Constitution be liberally interpreted so that the government can function without the interference of the people.
In s Constitutional Republic the people are the masters and the government is the servant, but in a Corporate Democracy the people are the subjects and the government is the master. The identity of our nation has changed from a Constitutional Republic to a Corporate Empire.
Replies
Molon Labe !
My understanding of the intent of the Constitution was to make all three branches of government equal and not to make one weaker than the other, and that Marbury v Madison was the platform for Justice John Marshal to establish “that a law repugnant to the constitution is void, and that courts, as well as other department, are bound thereby.”
The power of Mandamus and Judicial Review, was also brought out in this case because the case was within the administration of the government, specifically the Executive Branch, and was an administrative decision, still within the government and not really intended to be a decision about Rights of the people and yet still holding “that a law repugnant to the constitution is void, and that courts, as well as other department, are bound thereby.”
There are two kinds of Courts in the constitution. Those created by congress, which are inferior courts, and the One Supreme Court which is created by the constitution at article III, which is where the Judicial Power of the United States is vested. The decision in Marbuy v Madison came from a legislative court that was created in 1789 by the Act of Congress called the “Judiciary Act.”
The implied powers that you are talking about is the judicial power (that power vested in article III of the constitution) being usurped by the “supreme court” (legislatively created) and implying that it has “judicial power”. It can’t because all the powers are created separate.
In the first two years of the country, the legislative and executive branches were extremely jealous of the judicial power because they did not have it. The people had the power and the representatives wanted it so they created, by legislation, their own! This was the beginning of the Attorney Generals Office. They act for the attorney specific , whenever the specific attorney (each individual person) fails to act. Its kind of what happened in 2001 with the “patriot act”... and now Obama care.
It has always been unconstitutional for the government to spy on the people. So in 2001, the congress wrote a law, the “patriot act”, that made it legal for the government to spy on the people. “Legal but unconstitutional”. So it was in 1789, two years after the constitution was ratified, congress created their own “supreme court” but were unable to give it judicial power.... unless one of the people brought that power to the court, using article III jurisdiction. Legal (legislatively) but unconstitutional (without judicial power).
So what is a remedy, you might ask? I feel each one of us must bring the judicial power to the court, where the issue can be adjudicated properly, each individual case at a time. If everyone takes responsibility for the use of the judicial power, it matters not what they do in congress or the executive and this is why it appears that the supreme court is “the most powerful branch” as you mentioned in your article, but in reality, gives the people the most power, as it should.