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The early years of the US Supreme Court

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Read an excerpt from a VOA Learning English report about the uncertain early years of the US Supreme Court and a famous case from 1803.

The Rise of the US Supreme Court

At first, Americans were not sure how important the Supreme Court would be. Not very, some thought.

The court did not even have its own building, but moved from place to place. For a while, it operated out of the U.S. Capitol building in a meeting room lawmakers were not using.

And the position of Supreme Court justice was not highly valued.

One of the first justices, John Jay, resigned from the Supreme Court to become the governor of New York. Later, the president asked Jay to return to the high court. Jay said no. The idea of the federal judiciary had too many problems, he said. He did not think the Supreme Court could ever earn the public’s trust.

So the president at the time, John Adams, asked someone else, John Marshall, to be a Supreme Court justice.

That decision turned out to be very important. During his 34 years in office, beginning in 1801, John Marshall helped shape and strengthen the Supreme Court. One of his most historic decisions came in 1803. That year, Marshall wrote the opinion on a case called Marbury versus Madison.

The case related to a man named William Marbury. He had been offered a government job at the last minute by an outgoing president. The new president and his secretary of state, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, did not want to give Marbury the position for political reasons. But Marbury believed an earlier act of Congress required the president to appoint him. So Marbury took the dispute all the way to the Supreme Court.

The justices at the time agreed that Marbury should get the job. But they did not order Jefferson and Madison to give it to him. Instead, the justices believed, the earlier act of Congress violated the Constitution. So the whole idea behind Marbury’s case could not be justified.

That decision was historic, not because Marbury lost his case, but because of what it said about the Supreme Court. The chief justice claimed the court’s right to tell the rest of the federal government what the Constitution permits them to do.

Understand the text

Read the text. Choose the correct answer.

In its early years, the Supreme Court had its own building.
- a) True
- b) False
Why did John Jay leave the Supreme Court?
- a) To become the governor of New York
- b) To become president
- c) Because of poor health
Why did Jay refuse to return to the court?
- a) The salary was too low.
- b) He did not think the court could ever earn the public's trust.
- c) He was too old to work.
For how long was John Marshall in office?
- a) Four years
- b) Eighteen years
- c) 34 years
Who had offered William Marbury a government job?
- a) Thomas Jefferson
- b) An outgoing president
- c) James Madison
- d) John Jay
What did the justices decide about the earlier act of Congress?
- a) It was a good law.
- b) It should apply to all government jobs.
- c) It violated the Constitution.
Did the court order Jefferson and Madison to give Marbury the job?
- a) No
- b) Yes
- c) The text does not say.
Why was the decision in Marbury versus Madison historic?
- a) Because Marbury lost his case
- b) Because the court claimed the right to tell the government what the Constitution permits
- c) Because Jefferson changed his mind about Marbury

Words and details

Choose the best answer, or type one word or number from the text.

"The position of Supreme Court justice was not highly valued." This means that ...
- a) many people did not think the job was very important
- b) the job was easy to do
- c) only lawyers could do the job
"That decision turned out to be very important." This means it ...
- a) was expected to be very important
- b) was later shown to be very important
- c) was said not to be important
John Marshall's time in office began in ___.
Marshall helped "shape and strengthen" the court. Here, shape means ...
- a) draw pictures of
- b) move to a new building
- c) influence how something develops
Marbury took the ___ all the way to the Supreme Court.
"The whole idea behind Marbury's case could not be justified." Justified means ...
- a) shown to be right or reasonable
- b) paid for
- c) written down

Answer key

Understand the text

b) FalseThe court did not even have its own building, but moved from place to place.
a) To become the governor of New YorkJohn Jay resigned from the Supreme Court to become the governor of New York.
b) He did not think the court could ever earn the public's trust.He said the federal judiciary had too many problems and did not think the court could ever earn the public's trust.
c) 34 yearsThe text says: During his 34 years in office, beginning in 1801.
b) An outgoing presidentMarbury had been offered a job at the last minute by an outgoing president. Jefferson and Madison did not want to give him the position.
c) It violated the Constitution.The justices believed the earlier act of Congress violated the Constitution.
a) NoThe text says: But they did not order Jefferson and Madison to give it to him.
b) Because the court claimed the right to tell the government what the Constitution permitsIt was historic not because Marbury lost, but because the court claimed the right to tell the federal government what the Constitution permits.

Words and details

a) many people did not think the job was very importantIf something is not highly valued, people do not think it is very important.
b) was later shown to be very importantTurn out to be means that something is discovered or shown to be true later.
1801His 34 years in office began in 1801.
c) influence how something developsTo shape something means to influence the way it develops.
dispute / caseThe text says: Marbury took the dispute all the way to the Supreme Court. A dispute is a serious disagreement.
a) shown to be right or reasonableIf something is justified, there are good reasons to show it is right.