![]() ![]() The clash between fellow Virginians (and second cousins) Thomas Jefferson and John Marshall remains the most decisive confrontation between a president and a chief justice in American history. ![]() What Kind of Nation is a riveting account of the bitter and protracted struggle between two titans of the early republic over the power of the presidency and the independence of the judiciary. Struggle to Define the Power of the Court Subsequent attempts to convict Burr on violations of the Neutrality Act failed as well."-BOOK JACKET. Marshall, however, ruled that without the overt act, no treasonable action had occurred and neither discussion nor conspiracy could be prosecuted. Hoffer recounts how Jefferson's prosecutors argued that the mere act of discussing an "overt Act of War" - the constitution's definition of treason - was tantamount to committing the act. And when he turned his attention to entrepreneurial activities on the frontier he was suspected of empire building - and worse." "In the first book dedicated to this important case, Peter Charles Hoffer unveils a cast of characters ensnared by politics and law at the highest levels of government, including President Thomas Jefferson - one of Burr's bitterest enemies - and Chief Justice John Marshall, no fan of either Burr or Jefferson. Founding Father and vice president, he engaged in a duel with Alexander Hamilton, resulting in a murder indictment that effectively ended his legal career. ![]() "Aaron Burr was an enigma even in his own day. Letters between Jefferson and Prosecutor George Hay, and excerpts from the trial transcript and court opinions, support the author's thesis. In fact, Chief Justice John Marshall, usually presented as a champion of property rights and commerce, ensured that the rule of law prevailed despite enormous pressures, throughout the criminal trial. Chief Justice John Marshall responded decisively to Jefferson's efforts to influence, if not dictate to, the Judicial Branch. Jefferson was intimately involved in trial strategy, writing numerous letters to the lead prosecutor. But research reveals that, despite Jefferson's reputation as a champion of civil liberties, he jumped to publicly proclaim Burr's guilt - before he was even arrested, much less indicted and tried. Jefferson, more a philosopher and a romantic, was interested in ideas rather than order. John Marshall was interested in doing whatever it would take to make the United States successful he believed in an ordered society. Why did Thomas Jefferson and John Marshall become such great antagonists? In the dramas between these men, President Jefferson is seen in far different light than usual. The focus is on the treason trial of Aaron Burr and the story interweaves conflicts over the Judiciary Acts, Marbury v. In this book a legal expert discusses the battles over the judiciary between Chief Justice John Marshall and President Thomas Jefferson during the Jefferson Presidency. It has been often said that "an institution is lengthened by the shadow of one man." This is certainly true of John Marshall, who established the Supreme Court, made the judiciary a co-equal branch of government, and served as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1801–1835.
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