Here’s a brief look back in time on this day, February 24th.
In 1803, Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison (1803) is decided in favor for William Marbury over 2nd U.S. president James Madison. The issue stemmed from Madison’s refusal to make Marbury the justice of the peace for Washington County in D.C. as incoming president Thomas Jefferson begins his tenure in a week’s time. Chief Justice John Marshall concluded that some clauses in the Judiciary Act of 1789 – a law that established the federal courts system – had conflicted with the Constitution. To remedy this, he declared all acts passed by Congress that conflicts with the Constitution to be non-binding with the Courts. This was the establishment of judicial review, where the Supreme Court has the final say on whether or not a law is constitutional.
In 1868, 17th U.S. president Andrew Johnson is impeached by the House of Representatives on a vote of 126 to 47. The former Vice President to Abraham Lincoln, Johnson repeatedly struck down Reconstruction-era laws that punished Confederate leaders and the granting of rights to freed slaves. This was only a small contribution to the bucket however, as he had also defied Congress by forcefully dismissing his pro-Radical Republican Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. According to the Tenure of Office Act (1867), dismissals must be approved by the Senate. He ultimately kept his seat by one vote following his trial with the Senate.
In 2022, the ongoing Russo-Ukraine War begins when Russian forces invade the northern sector of Ukraine via passage from Belarus. Air raid sirens began ringing in the country’s capital of Kyiv as ground forces and missiles begin its bombardment. As of 2026, a combined 2 million military casualties have been reported. Meanwhile, thousands of civilians are being killed on a monthly basis.