Creating the United States
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Jefferson Thinks Supreme Court’s Control Must Be Limited
In this letter to Spencer Roane (1762–1822), a judge on the Virginia Court of Appeals, Thomas Jefferson cautions that the Supreme Court’s power to determine constitutionality must be curbed or it will continue to consolidate the power of the federal government. Jefferson argued that the judiciary’s independence from the will of the people upsets the checks and balances established by the Constitution.