The Franklin Mint History Of The United States, 1776-1973
Manufacturer
The Franklin Mint
CultureAmerican
DateNo Date
MediumSilver
DimensionsOverall: 1 3/4 in. (45 mm.)
Credit LineGift of Dr. Eugene F. Poutasse
Object number76.81.34
On View
Not on viewThe 1809 medal: Supreme Court Defends Federal Authority
Since the establishment of the national government, one party or another has stood for the States' Rights. Originally, the Jeffersonian Republicans (Democrats) were for States' Rights while the Federalists, as their name implies, were for federal authority. But after the government passed the embargo against foreign trade in 1807, the role of the two parties reversed; the Federalists, who dominated New England States with their extensive shipping trade, did not like the embargo and declared it to be unconstitutional and not binding upon the States.
In 1809 Pennsylvania challenged federal authority on another matter. Gideon Olmstead sought to recover from the State proceeds from the sale of a prize ship captured during the Revolution. Judge Richard Peters, in the District Court for Pennsylvania, had finally affirmed Olmstead's title. The State authorized the use of militia to prevent the federal marshall from serving a writ of execution.
Olmstead then appealed to the United States Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Marshall, although a Federalist, did not change his outlook; he was always strong in asserting the national sovereignty. His opinion in 'United States vs. Peters' stated, "If the legislatures of the several states may, at will, annul the judgements of the courts of the United States, and destory the rights acquired under those judgements, the Consititution itself becomes a solemn mockery, and the nation is deprived of its own tribunals."
