JOHN MARSHALL

Fauquier County, Virginia
September 24, 1755–July 6, 1835
Late Bloomer

John Marshall did not make a name for himself until after the Revolutionary War. He served in the Continental Army for several years, including the notorious winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Marshall resigned from the army in 1781 to study law. After that he held a number of political and judicial offices, including chief justice of the United States Supreme Court. In that capacity he changed the relationships among the three branches of government and between the federal and state governments. That, more than anything else he accomplished, is his legacy.

Winning Is Not Always a Good Thing

John Marshall began his law career with a capable mentor: He studied under George Wythe, one of Virginia’s leading eighteenth-century lawyers. Marshall quickly acquired a reputation for integrity and political acumen that led to his success as a legislator and judge.

He began his political career by serving one term in the Virginia General Assembly, representing Fauquier County. Later, he served on the Council of State from 1782 to 1784. Immediately thereafter, Marshall returned to the Virginia Assembly. This time, he represented Henrico County, from 1784 to 1787. He also served in June of 1788 as a delegate to the Virginia state convention assembled to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

REVOLUTIONARY REVELATIONS

John Marshall was a talented quoits player, which was one of his favorite pastimes. The game involved throwing a metal ring over an iron stake embedded in the ground. He was a member of the exclusive Buchanan Spring Quoits Club, where political discussions were forbidden—but consuming a punch diluted with brandy, rum, and Madeira wine was encouraged. He was also good at that.

Political opportunities were limited in Fauquier County, so Marshall moved to Richmond, Virginia, in 1785. He plunged into local politics, albeit unsuccessfully at first. He ran for the city council, but placed second. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The runner-up prize was a position as city recorder. That served him in good stead in his legal career.

The city recorder’s duty was to sit as a magistrate on a local court that handled minor civil and criminal cases. The position was a steppingstone for Marshall to higher court positions.

The experience in the Richmond court earned him a reputation that would follow him for the rest of his legal career. He was known as a man who adhered rigidly to three principles: subordinating self-interest to the public good, controlling oneself by reason, and maintaining a sense of duty.

Quotations to Live (and Die) By!

“THE PEOPLE MADE THE CONSTITUTION, AND THE PEOPLE CAN UNMAKE IT. IT IS THE CREATURE OF THEIR OWN WILL, AND LIVES ONLY BY THEIR WILL.”

—JOHN MARSHALL

Working His Way Up

Marshall combined his judicial and political responsibilities throughout the late 1700s. He served in the Virginia Assembly from 1782–91 and 1795–97. His accomplishments as a lawyer and judge over that time caught President George Washington’s attention. Washington offered Marshall two positions: attorney general and minister to France in the mid-1790s. He declined both in favor of something bigger. Marshall’s break came in 1800, when President John Adams named him as secretary of state.

REVOLUTIONARY REVELATIONS

John Marshall wrote a 3,200-page biography of George Washington that took him five years to complete. It sold 7,000 copies.

Marshall served as secretary of state from June 13, 1800, to March 13, 1801. On January 20, 1801, the outgoing president nominated him as chief justice of the Supreme Court. Marshall did not step down for thirty-four years. He was the longest-serving Supreme Court justice in U.S. history.

Chief Justice Marshall

Marshall made a major difference during his lengthy stint as the chief justice. Among his most significant accomplishments: he established the principle of judicial review, ruled that state judiciaries could set aside state legislative acts if they conflicted with the federal Constitution, and said that the U.S. Supreme Court could reverse a decision of a state court. He did note, however, that the powers of government were limited.

The cumulative effect of the three rulings was to increase the power of the Supreme Court as a branch of the federal government, emphasize the role of the judiciary in the states, and reinforce the national supremacy of the federal government.

Quotations to Live (and Die) By!

“IT IS EMPHATICALLY THE PROVINCE AND DUTY OF THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT TO SAY WHAT THE LAW IS…. IF TWO LAWS CONFLICT WITH EACH OTHER, THE COURTS MUST DECIDE ON THE OPERATION OF EACH…. THIS IS OF THE VERY ESSENCE OF JUDICIAL DUTY.”

—JOHN MARSHALL

Amazingly, even though Marshall served on the Supreme Court for thirty-four years, he did not render many significantly controversial rulings. One of the few that stood out, Marbury v. Madison (1803), set a precedent that affects the way the federal government operates today.

Marbury v. Madison involved a refusal by President Jefferson’s secretary of state, James Madison, to deliver William Marbury’s commission as a justice of the peace in Washington, D.C. Marbury asked the court to compel the government to grant his commission. The Supreme Court justices ruled that he was entitled to the commissions. But they said the Judiciary Act of 1789, which had given the court the power to grant it, was inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution. Therefore, they declared, the act was invalid.

The ruling made the Supreme Court the final decision maker regarding the constitutionality of congressional legislation.

In another well-known case, the Supreme Court under Marshall exonerated Aaron Burr of treason, after a June 24, 1807, indictment on charges that he had instigated a war against Spain. The case stemmed from a bizarre incident which then President Thomas Jefferson knew nothing about, even though it could have led the United States into a war.

In 1805 Burr had held secret meetings with Brigadier General James Wilkinson, governor of the Louisiana Territory, commander of the U.S. Army, and a secret agent of the Spanish Crown, regarding the purchase of one million acres of land in the south on which Burr would build his own empire.

Just who owned the land was in question. Spain claimed part of it, and threatened to go to war with the United States over the issue. Another chunk of the land would be taken from Mexico. Wilkinson agreed to supply U.S. troops for the invasion as part of the scheme. The plan unraveled when Wilkinson advised President Jefferson of what was happening. Burr was captured and charged with treason.

The case reached the Supreme Court, which ruled that Burr may have been guilty of something, but it was not treason. The man who had killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel walked free. He never did set up his own empire.

Marshall walked a tightrope in his years as chief justice. He consistently ruled fairly and impartially, and set judicial precedents that the Supreme Court is still following two centuries later.