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Joy English · Livello B2 · Governo e storiajoy-english.com

I primi anni della Corte Suprema degli Stati Uniti

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Leggi un estratto di un articolo di VOA Learning English sui primi anni incerti della Corte Suprema degli Stati Uniti e su un famoso caso del 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.

Capire il testo

Leggi il testo. Scegli la risposta corretta.

  1. In its early years, the Supreme Court had its own building.
    • a) True
    • b) False
  2. 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
  3. 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.
  4. For how long was John Marshall in office?
    • a) Four years
    • b) Eighteen years
    • c) 34 years
  5. Who had offered William Marbury a government job?
    • a) Thomas Jefferson
    • b) An outgoing president
    • c) James Madison
    • d) John Jay
  6. 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.
  7. Did the court order Jefferson and Madison to give Marbury the job?
    • a) No
    • b) Yes
    • c) The text does not say.
  8. 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

Parole e dettagli

Scegli la risposta migliore oppure scrivi una parola o un numero tratto dal testo.

  1. "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
  2. "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
  3. John Marshall's time in office began in ___.
  4. 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
  5. Marbury took the ___ all the way to the Supreme Court.
  6. "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

Soluzioni

Capire il testo

  1. b) FalseLa corte non aveva nemmeno un edificio proprio, ma si spostava da un posto all'altro.
  2. a) To become the governor of New YorkJohn Jay si dimise dalla Corte Suprema per diventare governatore di New York.
  3. b) He did not think the court could ever earn the public's trust.Disse che il sistema giudiziario federale aveva troppi problemi e non pensava che la corte potesse mai guadagnarsi la fiducia del pubblico.
  4. c) 34 yearsIl testo dice: During his 34 years in office, beginning in 1801.
  5. b) An outgoing presidentA Marbury era stato offerto un incarico all'ultimo momento da un presidente uscente. Jefferson e Madison non volevano dargli quel posto.
  6. c) It violated the Constitution.I giudici ritenevano che la precedente legge del Congresso violasse la Costituzione.
  7. a) NoIl testo dice: But they did not order Jefferson and Madison to give it to him.
  8. b) Because the court claimed the right to tell the government what the Constitution permitsFu storico non perché Marbury perse, ma perché la corte rivendicò il diritto di dire al governo federale che cosa la Costituzione permette.

Parole e dettagli

  1. a) many people did not think the job was very importantSe qualcosa non è molto apprezzato (highly valued), la gente non lo ritiene molto importante.
  2. b) was later shown to be very importantTurn out to be significa che qualcosa viene scoperto o dimostrato vero in seguito.
  3. 1801I suoi 34 anni di mandato iniziarono nel 1801.
  4. c) influence how something developsTo shape something significa influenzare il modo in cui si sviluppa.
  5. dispute / caseIl testo dice: Marbury took the dispute all the way to the Supreme Court. Un dispute è un serio disaccordo.
  6. a) shown to be right or reasonableSe qualcosa è giustificato (justified), ci sono buone ragioni che dimostrano che è giusto.

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