Question

Write in a 6th graders response

Marbury v. Madison / Cartoon Analysis
Observe
1. What people and objects are shown? Make a list of what you see in the cartoon including
captions.
2. Which of the items on the list from Question 1 are symbols? What does each symbol stand for?
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LandmarkCases.org Marbury v. Madison / Cartoon Analysis
3. What is the setting?
4. Are there any objects or people that seem to be exaggerated? If so, why do you think the
artist exaggerated?
Reflect
5. What is happening in this image?
Evaluate the Message
6. In your opinion, what is the cartoonist’s message? What elements of the cartoon give you
that impression?
7. Do you agree with the point of view and message of the cartoonist? Why or why not?
Question
8. What do you still wonder about?

Answer 1

Here is a sample 6th-grade response to the Marbury v. Madison cartoon. (If your cartoon has different pictures, tell me what you see and I’ll change the answers.)

Observe
1. What people and objects are shown? Make a list.
- Chief Justice John Marshall (a judge)
- William Marbury (a man asking for his job)
- James Madison or President Jefferson (someone from the executive branch)
- Papers or a paper labeled “Commission” or “Writ of Mandamus”
- A big book or sign that says “Constitution”
- Scales of justice and a gavel
- A building or doorway labeled “Supreme Court”
- A clock showing “midnight” (maybe a reference to the “midnight appointments”)

2. Which of the items are symbols? What does each symbol stand for?
- Constitution: stands for the nation’s highest law.
- Scales of justice: stands for fairness and the court’s job to be fair.
- Gavel: stands for the judge’s authority in court.
- Supreme Court building: stands for the judicial branch and its power.
- Paper labeled “Writ of Mandamus” or “Commission”: stands for the legal order or the right Marbury is asking for.
- Clock at midnight: stands for the “midnight appointments” given by the outgoing president (shows the political background).

3. What is the setting?
- The setting is the Supreme Court or a courtroom in early America (around 1803). It looks like a government place where legal decisions are made.

4. Are there any objects or people that seem to be exaggerated? If so, why?
- The judge (John Marshall) might be drawn larger or more serious to show he is important.
- The Constitution or the gavel might be drawn very big to show how powerful the law and the court are.
- Faces or expressions might be exaggerated so we can tell who is angry, worried, or confident. The artist does this to make the main idea easy to understand.

Reflect
5. What is happening in this image?
- William Marbury wants the court to force the government (Madison) to give him his job commission. Chief Justice Marshall is in the middle and the cartoon shows him using the Constitution and the court’s power. The cartoon probably shows that the court decides it can say whether a law is constitutional, even if it can’t give Marbury his job.

Evaluate the Message
6. In your opinion, what is the cartoonist’s message? What elements give that impression?
- Message: The Supreme Court has the power to interpret the Constitution and check the other branches of government.
- Why: The judge is shown with the Constitution, the scales, and the court building, which makes him look powerful and in charge of deciding what is constitutional.

7. Do you agree with the point of view and message of the cartoonist? Why or why not?
- I agree because it’s important for the courts to check laws and make sure they follow the Constitution. If one branch did whatever it wanted, the government wouldn’t be balanced. The court protecting the Constitution helps keep things fair.

Question
8. What do you still wonder about?
- I wonder what happened to William Marbury after this decision.
- I wonder how people at the time felt about the Supreme Court getting more power.
- I wonder how this decision changed other cases in the future.