Thurgood Marshall Impact

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According to Oxford Dictionary, the definition of impact is “a marked effect or influence.” In other words, an impact is a change in society or to how an action was done previously. Many people’s work and achievements have had considerable impacts on the United States of America. For example, George Washington affected how all presidents would leave office by delivering the first farewell address. Susan B. Anthony changed the outcome of all future elections by helping women win the right to vote, and Alexander Hamilton altered the economic structure of America by creating the national bank. Among those who have immensely influenced America stands Thurgood Marshall. During his remarkable career, he made the extraordinary achievements of winning…show more content…
Just like he was the first African American solicitor general, Marshall was also the first African American Supreme Court justice. His appointment was heavily orchestrated by President Lyndon B. Johnson who wanted to appoint the first black Supreme Court justice, and he believed Marshall was the best person for the task. As the president of the United States passionately declared, “He deserves the appointment. He is best qualified by training and by very valuable service to the country. I believe it is the right thing to do, the right time to do it, the right man, and the right place. I believe he has already earned his place in history, but I think it will be greatly enhanced by his service on the Court” (Aldred 109). For this reason, President Johnson picked him to be solicitor general. He then organized an opening on the Supreme Court by appointing the son of one of the justices to be the attorney general of the United States, which forced the justice to retire. Although Southern senators tried to prevent his confirmation, Marshall was confirmed with sixty-nine out of eighty votes in his favor. As a justice, Marshall was still a champion of civil rights. For instance, in the case of Interstate Circuit, Inc v. City of Dallas, Marshall wrote the Supreme Court’s majority decision opposing movie censorship and supporting the First Amendment. He also helped create precedents where teachers could not be fired for exercising their right to freedom of speech, workers had the right to picket, people could own obscene materials, and affirmative action was practiced (Aldred 109-114). At the start of his term, the Court had a liberal majority and Earl Warren was chief justice. However, following the election of President Nixon, the Supreme Court became more conservative because of the multitude of appointments Nixon made. From then on, his most
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