3. Landmark Supreme Court Cases: (15 points) Briefly describe Marbury v.Madison McCulloch v.Maryland. and Gibbons v.Ogden. Explain their significance to federal power and free enterprise.

## Step 1<br />Marbury v. Madison (1803) was a landmark case in the United States that established the principle of judicial review. This principle allows the Supreme Court to declare a law unconstitutional. The case arose when William Marbury, a Federalist who had been appointed as a justice of the peace by outgoing President John Adams, sued Secretary of State James Madison for failing to deliver his commission. The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice John Marshall, ruled that while Marbury was entitled to his commission, the Court did not have the authority to issue a writ of mandamus to force Madison to deliver it. This decision established the Supreme Court as the final arbiter of the Constitution and gave it the power to strike down laws that it finds to be in conflict with the Constitution.<br /><br />## Step 2<br />McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) was another significant case that dealt with the power of the federal government. The case arose when the state of Maryland attempted to tax a branch of the Second Bank of the United States. The bank, represented by James McCulloch, refused to pay the tax, arguing that it was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Marshall, ruled that the federal government had the power to charter a national bank, even if the Constitution did not explicitly grant it that power, under the Necessary and Proper Clause. The Court also held that a state could not tax an instrumentality of the federal government, such as a bank, because doing so would interfere with the operations of the federal government.<br /><br />## Step 3<br />Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) was a case that dealt with the power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce. The case arose when a New York law granted a monopoly to a steamboat company, which operated between New York and New Jersey. The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Marshall, ruled that the federal government had the power to regulate interstate commerce under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. The Court held that the New York law was an unconstitutional interference with the operations of the federal government and struck it down.