Thomas Jefferson specifically referenced this article (and others that will be provided) as it closely reflected his views on judicial overreach. He and his Republican followers believed that Leftist Chief Justice John Marshall and the Federalist dominated Supreme Court went against the will of the majority of the Convention of 1787. That they also went against the will of the majority of the people of the United States with the Cohens vs. Virginia decision (1821 and others.) Jefferson perfectly stated that the justices, "squeezed their own meaning out of the text using the slipperiness of the eels of law." This decision started the "extra-judicial" consolidation of power into the hands of the Federal government instead of leaving it where it belongs; decentralized with the people of each individual sovereign State. (Richmond Enquirer, Volume 18, Number 5, 25 May 1821) This article prophetically predicted the messes that would ensue when the strict fundamental construction of the Constitution of 1787 is violated! Click Picture to enlarge & zoom...

(Referenced: Thomas Jefferson to William Johnson, 12 June 1823)