Senator Humphrey Marshall

In his book Hardball, Chris Matthews discusses the useful strategies for getting ahead in politics that he observed during his time working in Washington, D.C. He breaks up his observations into chapters with different lessons. Three of the most important lessons are “It's Not Who You Know; It's Who You Get to Know,” (Chapter 1) “All Politics is Local,” (Chapter 2) and “Dance With the One That Brung Ya.” (Chapter 4). These chapters illustrate how important making and keeping connections and relationships is in Washington. The “game of politics” is played by using these relationships to gain favors, votes, support, etc. According to Matthews, the people who get ahead are the ones who make and keep these important connections and relationships with other politicians and the public.

This written report is appertaining to the book How Congress Works and Why You Should Care, written by Lee H. Hamilton. This book is published by Indiana University Press in Bloomington, IL, it was copyrighted in 2004 by the publisher.

The overall influence of the Supreme Court under John Marshall can be understood through the five main court cases over which he presided; Marbury v. Madison (1803), Fletcher v. Peck (1810), Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819), McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), and Gibbons v. Ogden (1824). The first significant case Marshall was faced with was Marbury v. Madison in 1803. In the last few days of his presidency, John Adams appointed members of the Federalist Party to the new offices he created within the judicial branch. When Thomas Jefferson took office he told James Madison, his secretary of state, not to deliver the unsent commissions to some of the “midnight appointments”, one of who was William Marbury. He appealed to the Supreme Court, asking for a court order that would require Madison to send out the commission, which was part of his job. The Judiciary Act of 1789 supported Marbury’s demands because it authorized the Supreme Court to order

While both houses were intended to have new members regularly with each election, the House of Representatives was especially supposed to change. James Madison wrote, in The Federalist No. 57 (1788), “[Representatives] will be taken from that class of citizens which will...be most likely to aim at an ambitious sacrifice of the many and the aggrandizement of the few.” Whereas Senators were

In a time of limited entertainment options, his Senate debates with John C. Calhoun, Thomas Hart Benton and many Jacksonians were attended by throngs of private citizens, House members (often including John Quincy Adams), foreign diplomats, and ladies by the score. The Capitol building was often flooded with listeners. He delivered public speeches to crowds of thousands in almost every major city and town of the United States. His speeches were reprinted and distributed throughout the nation as valuable newspaper copy. Clay's bound speeches sold widely. The Frankfort Commonwealth prophesied “In five hundred years to come, it is not probable that an opportunity will occur to elevate his equal. Greece produced but one Demosthenes; Rome but one Cicero; and America, we fear, will never see another Clay.”

In Marbury v. Madison, he led the Court in striking down an act of Congress that was in conflict with the Constitution, legitimizing the doctrine of judicial review. Over the course of his thirty-four year term, Marshall oversaw numerous landmark cases, his decisions in which played an undeniably critical role in the early development of American law. Thanks to his firm hand and consistent principles, he was able to secure the institutional power of the Supreme Court in the face of staunch Jeffersonian opposition—affirming its place as an equal among the Executive and Legislative branches of government.

John Marshall was a Federalist Chief Justice during Thomas Jefferson’s term and was Jefferson’s cousin. Marshall held the position of Supreme Court Justice for 34 years which allowed him to define the basic relationship of the judiciary to the federal government. He believed that the national legislature was supreme over state legislature which influenced all of his court decisions throughout his time in court. John Marshall pursued a loose interpretation of the constitution because he had to create power through the Elastic Clause to provide a just assessment of the case. The Elastic Clause allowed Congress to have power and add laws to the Constitution as necessary which gave Marshall the jurisdiction to bring justice with

In the past century, people continued to express an increasingly discontent view of Congress especially true when one looks back before the Clinton Impeachment debacle As the size of the nation and the number of congressman have grown, the congress has come under attack by both public influences and congressman themselves. Yet looking at one congressman's relationship with his or her constituents, it would be hard to believe that this is the branch of government that has come under suspect. In "If Ralph Nader says congress is 'The broken branch,' how come we love our congressman so much?" author Richard F. Fenno, Jr., provides insight into this view and why, through congress coming under fire, constituents still feel positively about

Clay placed these War Hawks in the most important committees, even though several were also new congressmen. Clay was able to do this without upsetting senior representatives because of the fairness he still gave to his colleagues. Senior congressmen respected Clay’s speaking abilities, youth, experience as a senator, and respect for American rights. The position was now more powerful as well as effective. Clay always had a clear agenda of what was to be discussed that day. He worked with committees to achieve his goals and specifically war legislation as the War of 1812 was approaching. Earlier speakers acted as a guide to the House of Representatives, and refrained from debates and votes. Henry Clay used his personality and initial popularity to debate and produce the majority needed.

Taylor, a special interest group member, controlled everything Senator Paine did until he finally decided to change. This denotes the impact that wealth can have in the government. The system is designed so that things such as pork barreling can pass and sometimes need to pass in order for a law to go through. This creates a system of lies and corruption, with members of the Senate not looking out for the national good. Senators are forced to focus on improving their own district because it is all they can do to ensure re-election. The most successful Senators do this because it gains short-term approval from their district and gets them a future vote. This is a method of maintaining their career, and is something they are in some cases forced to do. If someone like Mr. Smith came in and was consistently free of corruption, people would vote for him based on his truthfulness.

To begin with, one of Clay’s most remarkable achievements was acting as a leader for the Western War Hawks. In his early years as a politician, Clay was elected into the House of Representatives, where he came as a War Hawk. At the time, American sailors were being forced upon ships. Conscription seemed to be an act of war to the US, and War Hawks advocated for the US to take action against the British. Clay greatly believed that in order to preserve the overseas market and take back American sailors, the US would have to take action or go to war. With his

As you all know, three years ago I won the popular vote for President, but was denied the office because of a “corrupt bargain” between the dishonorable Henry Clay and President Adams. The people’s choice was disregarded by the elite in power. As a result, I immediately resigned from the Senate and

Wayne, Lasser, Miller and others tend to agree that lobbyists and PACs have a great amount of influence over congress members because they may have direct connections and give campaign contributions. Recently, the airlines industry convinced congress to pass a $15 billion aid package it needs in order to survive. “The airlines had plenty of resources to draw on: 27 in-houses lobbyists, augmented by lobbyists from 42 Washington firms, including former White House aides and transportation secretaries, as well as the airlines own chief executives and corporate board members, whom all are well known in the halls of congress”(Wayne, NYT, 10/01/01. Lasser, American Politics, 1999. Miller, The American Prospect, 10/23/00. Geiger, Washington Post, 11/4-10/91.)

To what extent was William Marshall’s life as a knight different from other knights of the time? Invariably it was not that much different than those of his peers until his later life. The one thing that set him apart from other knights was his fierce dedication to loyalty.

Daschle, Thomas, and Charles Robbins. The U. S. Senate. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2013.