Editing United States Congress (section)

===19th century===
In 1800, [[Thomas Jefferson]]'s election to the presidency marked a [[peaceful transition of power]] between the parties. [[John Marshall]], 4th chief justice of the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]], empowered the courts by establishing the principle of [[Judicial review in the United States|judicial review in law]] in the landmark case ''[[Marbury v. Madison]]'' in 1803, effectively giving the Supreme Court a power to nullify congressional legislation.<ref>{{cite book | first=Erwin | last=Chemerinsky | author-link=Erwin Chemerinsky | title=Constitutional Law: Principles and Policies | edition= 5th | location=New York | publisher=Wolters Kluwer | year=2015 | page=37| isbn=978-1-4548-4947-6 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last=Van Alstyne | first=William | title=A Critical Guide to ''Marbury v. Madison'' | journal=Duke Law Journal | volume=18 | issue=1 | page=1 | year=1969 | url=https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/faculty_scholarship/544/ | access-date=November 24, 2018 | archive-date=January 14, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114214505/https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/faculty_scholarship/544/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[American Civil War|Civil War]], which lasted from 1861 to 1865, resolved the slavery issue and unified the nation under federal authority but weakened the power of [[states rights|states' rights]]. The [[Gilded Age]] (1877–1901) was marked by [[History of the United States Republican Party|Republican]] dominance of Congress. During this time, lobbying activity became more intense, particularly during the administration of President [[Ulysses S. Grant]] in which influential lobbies advocated for railroad subsidies and tariffs on wool.<ref>Margaret S. Thompson, ''The "Spider Web": Congress and Lobbying in the Age of Grant'' (1985)</ref> Immigration and high birth rates swelled the ranks of citizens and the nation grew at a rapid pace. The [[Progressive Era]] was characterized by strong party leadership in both houses of Congress and calls for reform; sometimes reformers said lobbyists corrupted politics.<ref>Elisabeth S. Clemens, ''The People's Lobby: Organizational Innovation and the Rise of Interest-Group Politics in the United States, 1890–1925'' (1997)</ref> The position of [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House]] became extremely powerful under leaders such as [[Thomas Brackett Reed|Thomas Reed]] in 1890 and [[Joseph Gurney Cannon]].