Supreme Court Cases
Before John Adams left office, he appointed John Marshall as the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The first official act Marshall performed in his remarkable 34 years in office was to administer the presidential oath to his cousin and political rival, Thomas Jefferson. The appointment of Marshall often left Jefferson frustrated as he fought against the Federalist controlled courts. Marshall served as Chief Justice for over three decades and throughout his leadership, the Supreme Court strengthened the federal courts and upheld federal authority. Three of Marshall’s most famous court cases include Marbury v. Madison, McCulloh v. Maryland and Gibbons v. Ogden.