The intense dispute between Thomas Jefferson and John Marshall over the Marbury case revealed fundamental divisions over the nature of the new nation. Jefferson and other Republicans asserted that individual states should remain the primary agents of political power. In contrast, Marshall and the Federalists insisted that modern nationhood required a powerful central government capable of creating and enforcing laws for all American people. Marshall got the better of the argument. In Marbury v. Madison, the Court declared a federal act unconstitutional for the first time. With that decision, the Court assumed the right of judicial review over acts of Congress. As chief justice, Marshall established the constitutional supremacy of the federal government over state governments.
