The Making of a Nation No. 33 - Thomas Jefferson Part 4

May 15, 2013

Making of a Nation

From VOA Learning English, welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION, our weekly program of American history for people learning English. I’m Steve Ember.

We’ve been discussing the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. He was America’s third president, elected in 1800.

In our last program, we talked about a dispute between Jefferson and the chief justice of the United States. Jefferson believed the Constitution gave Congress the right to decide the country’s laws. But Chief Justice John Marshall believed the Supreme Court had the final say.

The two men’s beliefs were tested in a case called Marbury versus Madison. John Marshall's arguments won. He wrote a decision saying the Supreme Court had the power to rule on the laws that Congress passed.

The Supreme Court did not act on that power during Jefferson’s administration. But John Marshall’s decision did help establish the role of the Supreme Court in the American government.

The Marbury versus Madison case is one of the important legacies of Jefferson’s presidency. But historian Joseph Ellis says it was not the only one.

“The major achievement of Jefferson’s presidency is the Louisiana Purchase, which is a lot of luck as well as his willingness to take advantage of the luck.”