Galileo Galilei
05-26-2010, 06:12 PM
Nullification Made Simple by John Marshall:
“All laws which are repugnant to the Constitution are null and void.”
John Marshall (1803)
The logic of this quite is overpowering, and the beauty of it is, the logic can be applied by anyone or by any State to any law. Your State can use it to nullify. Or if you want to smoke some weed, just nullify the pot laws yourself and light up.
The quote is brief, clear, and to-the-point, and even uses the word "null" right in it. No need to study long laborious arguments on Madison and Jefferson, no! Just 12 words from Marshall does the trick.
Other advantages of the quote:
* The quote comes from an official government document, not some unpublished letter.
* The quote comes not only from a Supreme Court decision, but the most famous Supreme Court decision of all time; Marbury vs. Madison.
* The author of the quote is one of our most authoritative Founding Fathers:
Marshall fought bravely in the Revolutionary war, including the Battle of Monmouth, the Battle of Brandywine, the Crossing of the Delaware, and the Battles of Trenton and Princeton. He rose to the rank of a Colonel. He earned a law degree at William & Mary. He served in the Virginia State legislature. He voted for the Constitution at the Virginia Ratifying Convention and spoke in it's favor. He served in the US House of Representatives. He served as Secretary of State. He wrote an excellent two-volume biography of George Washington. And he served 35 years as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, until he died in 1835.
* And on top of all this, Marshall is labeled by some as an advocate of "big government". What better way to argue against big government then, to quote John Marshall?
Marshall's legacy:
In 1912, 77 years after the death of John Marshall, federal government expenditures only made up 1.75% of the U.S. gross domestic product.
“All laws which are repugnant to the Constitution are null and void.”
John Marshall (1803)
The logic of this quite is overpowering, and the beauty of it is, the logic can be applied by anyone or by any State to any law. Your State can use it to nullify. Or if you want to smoke some weed, just nullify the pot laws yourself and light up.
The quote is brief, clear, and to-the-point, and even uses the word "null" right in it. No need to study long laborious arguments on Madison and Jefferson, no! Just 12 words from Marshall does the trick.
Other advantages of the quote:
* The quote comes from an official government document, not some unpublished letter.
* The quote comes not only from a Supreme Court decision, but the most famous Supreme Court decision of all time; Marbury vs. Madison.
* The author of the quote is one of our most authoritative Founding Fathers:
Marshall fought bravely in the Revolutionary war, including the Battle of Monmouth, the Battle of Brandywine, the Crossing of the Delaware, and the Battles of Trenton and Princeton. He rose to the rank of a Colonel. He earned a law degree at William & Mary. He served in the Virginia State legislature. He voted for the Constitution at the Virginia Ratifying Convention and spoke in it's favor. He served in the US House of Representatives. He served as Secretary of State. He wrote an excellent two-volume biography of George Washington. And he served 35 years as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, until he died in 1835.
* And on top of all this, Marshall is labeled by some as an advocate of "big government". What better way to argue against big government then, to quote John Marshall?
Marshall's legacy:
In 1912, 77 years after the death of John Marshall, federal government expenditures only made up 1.75% of the U.S. gross domestic product.