MARBURY CAMPAIGNED AGAINST JEFFERSON
In the election of 1796, Federalist John Adams won the Presidency of the United States by three electoral votes. A loophole in the Constitution made the second-highest electoral vote winner the Vice President. Accordingly, Adams' political rival, Thomas Jefferson, became second in command.
Also in 1796, William Marbury, a Federalist, was appointed financial Agent for the State of Maryland - perhaps the most powerful unelected state position. Marbury's success was noted by the Federalist elite in Washington. In 1798, Marbury was named to the board of directors of an influential D.C. bank. The next year, he was tapped by Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert to become the purchasing agent for the new Washington Navy Yard. Marbury moved to Georgetown and became part of President Adams' inner circle.
By 1800, Adams' prospects for a second term in office were grim. Adams' friends did not forget the three electoral votes from 1796. Marbury and other Adams supporters knew that if Maryland's electoral votes were cast as a statewide Federalist bloc, then Adams would be assured the election of 1800. First, though, Maryland's electoral laws had to change.
The electoral issue became central to the Maryland state legislative elections in October 1800, with Marbury campaigning for Federalist legislators who would seek the change. However, Republicans won the state legislature, and Maryland's electoral laws were not amended. Shortly thereafter, the state's ten electoral votes were split evenly between Adams and Jefferson in the presidential race. Despite Marbury's efforts, Jefferson clearly beat Adams in total electoral votes, 73 to 65.
MARBURY WAS FIRED FROM FEDERAL OFFICE
During the Adams Administration, the United States Navy had greatly expanded its fleet to 20 ships by the end of 1798. In May of 1799, the fleet was still growing. As mentioned, Marbury was selected to spearhead development of the Washington Navy Yard and oversee the construction of a special 74-gun ship.
However, on March 11, 1801, the press reported that the gunship project was not faring well. Marbury, largely due to political matters beyond his control, was dealing with a persistently late timber supplier. The problem with the supplier significantly delayed and raised the cost of the project, which was running on a tight deadline.
While the press revealed the scandal, newly inaugurated President Thomas Jefferson was focusing on other matters, such as Adams' last-minute judicial appointments. Jefferson had little patience for the timber scandal. He canceled construction of the warship. Shortly thereafter, a Cabinet member fired Marbury from his position as naval agent.
Despite his disappointments with federal office, Marbury's post-Navy days were prosperous. He lived until 1835, residing in the Georgetown home where the elite had once reached a gentlemen's agreement to set aside the land that became Washington, D.C. In 1814, he became the President of Farmers and Mechanics National Bank, a prominent Georgetown institution.
MARBURY WAS ANNOUNCED IN A HOTEL LIVING ROOM
Pursuant to mandamus power given to the Supreme Court by the Judiciary Act of 1789, the Court sat as a court of original jurisdiction in Marbury v. Madison. In December 1801, the case commenced proceedings with an order to show cause in Marbury's favor.
Scholars believe that this initial order caused the newly Republican Congress to pass the Judiciary Act of 1802. Among other things, this act changed the Supreme Court calendar. No cases - including the rest of Marbury - would be heard until the first Monday in February 1803.
On February 10, 1803, Marbury's attorneys argued the case. Neither Madison nor an attorney representing him was in court. Madison had never even acknowledged the order to show cause.
Shortly after the argument, Justice Samuel Chase became quite ill. To accommodate him in the winter weather, the Supreme Court began to hear arguments where the justices all lodged, Stelle's Hotel. On February 24, 1803, the justices gathered for four hours, while Chief Justice John Marshall read the landmark Marbury decision. The case that made the U.S. Supreme Court one of the most powerful courts in the world was announced in the living room of a three-story hotel!
In the end, William Marbury's name made it into the history books - probably just not in the way he had envisioned.
Sources:
Abbott, David W., and Levine, James P., Wrong Winner: The Coming Debacle in the Electoral College, Westport CT: Praeger Publishers (1991) (describing the various political implications that resulted from the February 1801 election).
"Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of Marbury v. Madison - The Supreme Court's First Great Case," American Bar Association (February 2003) (electronic access at http://www.abanet.org/publiced/lawday/marbury.pdf).
Forte, David F., Marbury's Travail: Federalist Politics and William Marbury's Appointment as Justice of the Peace, 45 Catholic University Law Review 349 (Winter 1996) (reprinted at www.jmu.edu).
"History of the Forrest-Marbury House," www.ukraineinfo.us/embassy/history.html.
Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803).
Smith, Jean Edward, John Marshall - Definer of a Nation, Owl Books (1998).
Stites, Francis N., John Marshall: Defender of the Constitution, Boston: Little, Brown and Company (1981).
