It was on this day, February 19, in 1807, that a former vice president was arrested for treason.
He was arrested, to be specific, at Wakefield, now part of Alabama. This came about because a one-time associate of Burr, General James Wilkinson, Governor of the Louisiana Territory, betrayed him.
It remains unclear just what Burr had been up to in the period between the end of his term as VP and his arrest almost two years later. Did Wilkinson betray him with the truth, or with lies?
From what historians tell us of Wilkinson's character, it could have been either.
At any rate, the arrest led to a spectacular trial presided over by the Chief Justice, John Marshall. Burr was acquitted, though he was never a figure of political importance again -- so in that sense much of Jefferson's purpose in pressing for his arrest and trial had been accomplished.
My point? the whole incident served the young nation well. For Marshall insisted on the significance of the phrase "overt acts" in the constitutional discussion of treason. No one becomes a traitor by virtue of what he says -- there must be some conduct beyond speech -- somnbody has to pick up or load a gun, for example. Treason charges have never subsequently served, in the US, as a way of punishing or limiting dissent. That fact has less to do with the first amendment than we might imagine, and more to do with the "overt act" language in the original constitution, and with Marshall's application of it in this matter.
Just something to remember with some gratitude on this day.
Showing posts with label John Marshall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Marshall. Show all posts
19 February 2011
11 October 2009
If the court can not come to Chase
Cliff Sloan and David McKean have written The Great Decision, a book about the Supreme Court's decision in Marbury v. Madison. The subtitle portentously speaks of "Jefferson, Adams, Marshall, and the Battle for the Supreme Court."
But what the book adds are matters interstitial to the main line of the narrative, a main line that is after all fairly well known already to the sort of folks who would consider reading such a book.
I like the bit about Samuel Chase and the gout. Chase suffered from that affliction so badly in February 1803 that he could not hobble the short distance from Stelle's Hotel, where he was staying, to the Capitol, where the court was meeting.
Meanwhile, Justice Cushing was ill in Massachusetts and Justice Moore was apparently also ailing and absent. So Chief Justice Marshall could not get a quorum.
What did he do? He moved the site of the meetings to the lobby of Stelle's. Chase could thus attend.
But by the morning of February 24, when the result in Marbury was announced to the world, Moore too had recovered sufficiently so that he could attend, so everyone other than Cushing was there in the lobby of the Hotel. In addition to Chase, Moore, and Marshall, there was Bushrod Washington, the nephew of the First President (and thus the cousin of his country?), and William Paterson.
A neat anecdote, though if you want some broader resonance to it you may have to look elsewhere. Gout is gout, not a symbol of constitutional crises or of their resolution.
But what the book adds are matters interstitial to the main line of the narrative, a main line that is after all fairly well known already to the sort of folks who would consider reading such a book.
I like the bit about Samuel Chase and the gout. Chase suffered from that affliction so badly in February 1803 that he could not hobble the short distance from Stelle's Hotel, where he was staying, to the Capitol, where the court was meeting.
Meanwhile, Justice Cushing was ill in Massachusetts and Justice Moore was apparently also ailing and absent. So Chief Justice Marshall could not get a quorum.
What did he do? He moved the site of the meetings to the lobby of Stelle's. Chase could thus attend.
But by the morning of February 24, when the result in Marbury was announced to the world, Moore too had recovered sufficiently so that he could attend, so everyone other than Cushing was there in the lobby of the Hotel. In addition to Chase, Moore, and Marshall, there was Bushrod Washington, the nephew of the First President (and thus the cousin of his country?), and William Paterson.
A neat anecdote, though if you want some broader resonance to it you may have to look elsewhere. Gout is gout, not a symbol of constitutional crises or of their resolution.
08 August 2009
A Heart in the Silver Case
I have of late been skimming about in, not really reading, a book by Cliff Sloan and David McKean about the Supreme Court's decision in MARBURY v. MADISON. The book is titled, appropriately enough, The Great Decision.
Anyway, I have happened upon this bit. After describing Chief Justice John Marshall's devotion to his wife, Polly Marshall, nee Ambler, the authors write of one possible exception to a life of fidelity.
"In his stay in Paris during the XYZ Affair, Marshall lodged with the Marquise de Villette, who had been raised by Voltaire and who kept Voltaire's heart in a silver case in her sitting room. Marshall was thoroughly enthralled with the Marquise, leading to speculation that they may have had an affair ...."
Ewww. She kept a heart (never bloody well mind whose!) in a silver case in her sitting room? Well, we should at least be glad she didn't have it in a bronze case. That would just be weird.
The XYZ Affair had its own fascinations, no doubt but I don't see how Marshall could have kept up with the intrigue if he was lodging in a home with a dead guy's heart lying around.
By the way, yes I'm aware that The New York Times has sacked Ben Stein. I'll save my discussion of this much-deserved firing for Thursday. Watch for it.
Anyway, I have happened upon this bit. After describing Chief Justice John Marshall's devotion to his wife, Polly Marshall, nee Ambler, the authors write of one possible exception to a life of fidelity.
"In his stay in Paris during the XYZ Affair, Marshall lodged with the Marquise de Villette, who had been raised by Voltaire and who kept Voltaire's heart in a silver case in her sitting room. Marshall was thoroughly enthralled with the Marquise, leading to speculation that they may have had an affair ...."
Ewww. She kept a heart (never bloody well mind whose!) in a silver case in her sitting room? Well, we should at least be glad she didn't have it in a bronze case. That would just be weird.
The XYZ Affair had its own fascinations, no doubt but I don't see how Marshall could have kept up with the intrigue if he was lodging in a home with a dead guy's heart lying around.
By the way, yes I'm aware that The New York Times has sacked Ben Stein. I'll save my discussion of this much-deserved firing for Thursday. Watch for it.
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