Politics and Public Service
John Marshall
1755-1835

John Marshall was born in a log cabin on the Virginia frontier, one of 15 children. His father was a friend of George Washington and his mother was related to the Jeffersons, Lees, and Randolphs. Despite these connections, Marshall lived a very simple life and received little formal education. He saw action at Great Bridge and served in the Continental Army at Brandywine and Monmouth, and wintering with Washington at Valley Forge. Marshall studied law with the noted George Wythe and began his practice in western Virginia, but when he married, he moved his residence to Richmond, his home for the remainder of his life. He attended the ratification convention in Virginia and spoke in favor of the new constitution, locking horns with Patrick Henry and other opponents of a strong central government. Marshall declined several positions in the Washington administration, but did accept a diplomatic assignment to France from John Adams in 1797 (see XYZ Affair). Marshall served a term in Congress, then was appointed secretary of state by Adams and in 1801, became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

The contributions of Marshall as Chief Justice are hard to overestimate. His opinions established the bedrock of constitutional law for the young nation, drawing from the document an array of both specific and implied powers. It was through Marshall that Federalism continued to exist despite the demise of the Federalist political party.

The establishment of the judicial review of congressional legislation stemmed from Marbury v Madison (1803). McCulloch v Maryland (1819) set the precedent for setting aside state legislation by invalidating state taxation of a federal agency. The Dartmouth College Case (1819) helped to protect the inviolability of contracts. Gibbons v Ogden (1824) supported federal primacy in the regulation of commerce. His powers of persuasion were so great that his Federalist philosophy dominated the Court in an age of Democratic appointments.

Despite Marshall’s contributions, he remained a partisan political figure, as evidenced in his dealings with his rival Thomas Jefferson in Marbury and the Aaron Burr trial, and later with Andrew Jackson and the Cherokee issue.

Marshall also is remembered for authoring a five-volume Life of George Washington (1804-07).

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