American Judiciary, Part 2: An Independent Federal Judiciary
One of the first pieces of legislation crafted in the first Congress was the Judiciary Act of 1789, signed into law by President George Washington on September 24. This act established that “The supreme court of the United States shall consist of a chief justice and five associate justices” and that it would meet in two sessions each year in the nation’s capital.” President Washington nominated six Supreme Court justices, including John Jay as the first chief justice, but his appointments were based as much on political orientation as on judicial experience. However, in the election of 1800, Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican party swept John Adams and the Federalists from power, capturing the presidency and both houses of Congress.
Tom Hand, creator and publisher of Americana Corner, discusses how the federalists took control of the national judiciary, and why it still matters today.
Images courtesy of Library of Congress, National Archives, National Portrait Gallery - Smithsonian Institution, New York Public Library, Encyclopedia Virginia, National Gallery of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wikimedia.
One of the foundational governing principles of the Constitution created at the Philadelphia Convention in the summer of 1787 was a separation of powers between the national legislative, executive, and judicial branches. But while significant operating concepts and responsibilities were set forth for Congress and the Executive in the Constitution, the delegates barely addressed the specific structure of the Judicial branch.