239 The Judiciary Act of 1801

239. The Judiciary Act of 1801

One of the last laws made by the Fed - eralists was the Judiciary Act of 1801. This law greatly enlarged the national judiciary , and Adams eagerly seized the opportunity to appoint his friends to the new offices . The Republican Congress now repealed this Judiciary Act and " legislated out of office " al the new judges . For it must be remembered that the Constitution makes only the members of the Supreme Court sure of their offices . Congress also got rid of many other Fed - eralist officeholders by repealing the In - ternal Revenue Act ( p .167). But while al this was done , Jefferson steadily refused to appoint men to office merely because they were Republicans . One man claimed an office on the ground that he was a Republican , and that the Republicans were the saviors of the republic . Jefferson replied that Rome had been saved by geese , but he had never heard that the geese were given offices .