And so the
event proved. General Washington chose John Jay for the first Chief
Justice, who in some important respects was more Federalist than
Hamilton, while John Adams selected John Marshall, who, though one of
the greatest jurists who ever lived, was hated by Jefferson with a
bitter hatred, because of his political bias. As time went on matters
grew worse. Before Marshall died slavery had become a burning issue, and
the slave-owners controlled the appointing power. General Jackson
appointed Taney to sustain the expansion of slavery, and when the
anti-slavery party carried the country with Lincoln, Lincoln supplanted
Taney with Chase, in order that Chase might stand by him in his struggle
to destroy slavery. And as it has been, so must it always be. As long as
the power to enact laws shall hinge on the complexion of benches of
judges, so long will the ability to control a majority of the bench be
as crucial a political necessity as the ability to control a majority in
avowedly representative assemblies.
Hamilton was one of the few great jurists and administrators whom
America has ever produced, and it is inconceivable that he did not
understand what he was doing.
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