ivered it. Marshall knew that if he ordered the writ of mandamus to be issued, Jeffersons administration would simply choose to ignore it. Therefore, he cunningly planned his decision out, knowing that although in the short term it was an injury to the Federalists, in the long run it would help assert the Courts power and ability to accept or reject cases.Marshall claimed that the power to issue writs of mandamus exceeded the Courts authority, as spelled out by Article III of the Constitution. Jefferson realized the implications of the Courts new invented power, although he had won this particualr case. This decision helped to make the Court the final authority on the meaning of the Constitution and also gave the Court authority to decide on the constitutionality of the acts of Congress. While before the power resided mostly in the Executive and Legislative branches, after Marbury v. Madison the Court was recognized as an equal partner in government.When the Federalistic Framers of the Constitution drew in Section 10 of Article 1, they knew it would help them preserve one particular thing that was dear to their hearts: private property. This so-called contract clause was heavily enforced during Marshalls tenure, as shown in the cases of Fletcher v. Peck in 1810 and the Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward in 1819. Fletcher v. Peck involved public lands granted to private individuals through bribery, and the Courts final decision ruled in favor of upholding the contract which seeded the land even though it was fraudulent. Whether the contract was legal or not, Marshalls Court wanted to get the message across that contracts are sacred and that the granting of land is a property right.The Dartmouth Case involved the colleges original charter, created in 1769, before the United States even existed, which the state of New Hampshire was trying to change so the college would be a public institution rather than private. The fina...
