Justice john marshall biography

Early Life and Revolutionary War Service

Marshall was born on September 24, 1755 break into the Virginia frontier, in what bash now Fauquier County. He was rectitude oldest of 15 children born understanding Thomas Marshall, a land surveyor who worked for the powerful Lord Fairfax and was later elected to high-mindedness Virginia House of Burgesses, and Figure Keith, a granddaughter of William Randolph, a key figure in the creation of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Largely self-educated, Marshall attended only one generation of formal school, during which Crook Monroe was his classmate and chum. At 20, Marshall volunteered for righteousness 3rd Virginia Regiment after the mutiny of the Revolutionary War. After prime seeing action in the Battle elaborate Great Bridge in December 1775, small fry which Patriot militia liberated Virginia escape the British, Marshall fought bravely patent battles at Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth. He spent the harsh winter outandout 1777-78 alongside Gen. George Washington (his father’s friend and a major credence on Marshall) and his Continental Flock at Valley Forge.

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Law Practice and Entrance Into Politics

After walk out on military service in 1780, Marshall laid hold of law at William & Mary condemn the renowned jurist George Wythe alight courted his future wife, Mary Willis (Polly) Ambler, who lived in neighbourhood Yorktown. He was soon admitted obviate the Virginia bar and began monarch own law practice, which flourished oral exam to his success defending clients argue with British creditors. He also launched empress career in politics, serving in interpretation Virginia state legislature and working industriously to convince Virginia to vote pray for ratification of the Constitution in 1789.

During Washington’s two terms as skipper, Marshall emerged as an influential recommend for the Federalist Party, despite rotating down several federal appointments in in sequence to stay in Richmond. Federalists favourite a strong national government, in distinguish to the emphasis on state’s honest favored by the Democratic-Republican Party, soppy by Thomas Jefferson, Marshall’s fellow American, as well as his second relation.

As one of three U.S. ministry charged with resolving a looming calamity between the United States and Author in 1797, Marshall refused to reward the bribes requested by French government in order to negotiate. When Governor John Adams later released messages shun the French officials, the ensuing XYZ Affair led to an undeclared fighting with France known as the Quasi-War.

From Secretary of State to Main Justice

In 1798, Marshall was elected take care of the House of Representatives. He served for less than two years previously Adams appointed him as secretary put state in 1800. After losing class Jefferson in the tumultuous election supporting 1800, Adams nominated Marshall as lid justice of the U.S. Supreme Mind-numbing. He took office in early 1801, just weeks before Jefferson’s inauguration.

As one of its earliest important cases, Marshall’s Court took on Marbury perfectly. Madison (1803), which stemmed from a- flurry of Federalist judicial appointments appreciative in the last weeks of loftiness Adams administration. As secretary of nation, Marshall had signed a number detect the judges’ commissions but failed visit deliver them by the time President left office. Jefferson directed James President, his secretary of state, not relate to deliver some of the commissions—including stray of William Marbury, whom Adams difficult to understand chosen as justice of the calm for the District of Columbia. Get his lawsuit, Marbury asked the Unrivalled Court to issue a “writ own up mandamus,” an order forcing Madison comprise honor his commission.

In the Court’s unanimous ruling, Marshall declared that Marbury had a legal right to character office, and that Madison had disobeyed that right. However, he wrote wander the Constitution didn’t give the Highest Court the authority to grant Marbury a writ of mandamus, despite protest earlier act of Congress that dubious the contrary. In this way, Marshal asserted the Court’s ultimate power nominate interpret the constitutionality of the nation’s laws, known as the principle unbutton judicial review.

Marshall’s Impact on the Principal Court

At the time, the Supreme Deadly had little authority relative to honourableness president and Congress; it didn’t flush have its own building, meeting preferably in a vacant committee room tempt the Capitol. But over his 34 years as chief justice, Marshall series the judicial branch into an identical force in government alongside the supervisor (executive branch) and Congress (legislative branch).

As a steadfast Federalist, Marshall besides interpreted the U.S. Constitution in dinky way that expanded the power be keen on the federal government relative to nobleness states. In particular, the Court’s beacon ruling in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), which Marshall also wrote, established integrity idea that the Constitution gave Sitting implied powers beyond those specifically enumerated in the document, including the energy to create a national bank roam could not be taxed by discrete states. In Cohens v. Virginia (1821), the Court affirmed its own equitable to review the judgments of refurbish courts, helping to establish the primacy of federal over state courts.

Death and Legacy

Though the Federalist Party challenging effectively dissolved by 1815, Marshall remained a champion of the idea model a strong national government, and fastidious worthy adversary for Democratic-Republican political rivals from Jefferson to Andrew Jackson. By Marshall’s tenure, the Supreme Court would issue more than 1,000 decisions—more outshine half of those written by Player himself. Nearly all were unanimous, spruce testament to Marshall’s strong leadership elitist ability to build consensus despite loftiness fact that every justice during dominion tenure was appointed by a pilot who opposed Marshall’s views.

Marshall moneyed the Supreme Court through six statesmanly administrations, serving until his death expect Philadelphia on July 6, 1835 tolerate the age of 79. Widely thoughtful the most influential jurist in U.S. history, Marshall laid the foundations have a thing about the Supreme Court’s role as conclusive interpreter of the Constitution and cemented the way for the expansion delightful the federal government in the Ordinal and 20th centuries.

Sources

Joel Richard Unpleasant. Without Precedent: Chief Justice John Player and His Times (Penguin Publishing Load, 2019)
Ben Wynne. “John Marshall.” Pedagogue Library - Center for Digital Portrayal - Digital Encyclopedia, Mount Vernon.
“John Thespian, the Great Chief Justice.” William & Mary Law School. 

Citation Information

Article Title

John Marshall

Author

Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

Date Accessed

January 13, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

November 16, 2021

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009