Marshall, John

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MARSHALL, JOHN

John Marshall, the greatest chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, was born on 24 September 1755 in Fauquier County, Virginia, and was the oldest of fifteen children. He married Mary Ambler in 1783 and they had ten children.

Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court by President John Adams early in 1801, he had distinguished himself in numerous areas of public service. Marshall was a successful lawyer, practicing in the area of Richmond, Virginia, and specializing in debt cases. He argued, unsuccessfully, one case before the Supreme Court—Ware v. Hylton (1796). He was a soldier in the American Revolution, served several terms in the Virginia legislature, and was a diplomat to France. He refused several offers to serve in government, most notably as U.S. attorney general and as an assistant Supreme Court justice. He served in Congress from 1799 to 1800 and then briefly as President John Adams's secretary of state.

When Adams sent Marshall's nomination to the U.S. Senate in January 1801, the Federalists were still in control, but most were not enthusiastic about the nomination; this caused some delay in confirmation. Nevertheless, Marshall assumed his duties on 5 March 1801, becoming the highest-ranking Federalist in the new Democratic Republican era that began after 1800. For the first time in the nation's history, the Democratic Republicans controlled the House, the Senate, and the presidency. Federalists thought the country would never survive Republican governance. The Republicans, on the other hand looked unfavorably upon the federal judiciary as the last stronghold of Federalist influence. The feelings of the Republicans were only strengthened by the last-minute passage of the Judiciary Act of 1801, which was an attempt by Federalists to put their party in firm control of the judiciary after having lost control of the other two branches of the government. This put Marshall, just as he arrived on the Court, right at the center of President Thomas Jefferson's assault on the federal judiciary.

Marshall worked quite hard and, for the most part, was successful in persuading the Court to produce single "opinions of the court"—except for dissents—so the Court's decision would be clear, strengthening the Court. To further this goal he convinced the rest of the Court to cease the practice of seriatim opinions by which each justice had written his own opinion for each case. To have one Court opinion and usually to have unanimity in support of that opinion was one of the many things Marshall did to help the Court achieve equal footing with the other two branches of government. In most of the unanimous opinions, at least in the significant cases, it was Marshall who wrote the opinion of the Court.

Most, if not all, of Marshall's noteworthy opinions increased the power of the federal government at the expense of the states. One case that does not fit this description but the one for which, perhaps, Marshall is best known, is Marbury v. Madison (1803). His opinion gave the first clear articulation of the principle of judicial review by the Supreme Court. This opinion was carefully crafted, keeping in mind Jefferson's battle with the courts and attempting not to give him more ammunition in his effort to check the influence of the judiciary.

Marshall used a case-by-case approach in attempting to strengthen the federal government. In Fletcher v. Peck (1810) his opinion furthered the goal of judicial nationalization, using the contract clause of the Constitution as the instrument.

His opinion in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) used federal supremacy as its dominant theme. This opinion restrained the actions of state legislatures, but it also freed Congress by giving judicial approval to the loose construction of the Constitution, particularly Article I, section 8, clause 18, the necessary and proper or elastic clause.

Marshall and the Court issued a strong justification and defense for judicial review in upholding the right of the Supreme Court to review decisions of state courts in Cohens v. Virginia (1821). In Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) Marshall's opinion held that Congress had the power to regulate interstate commerce. His opinion was written broadly so that his opinion and its findings would not become antiquated.

Marshall's greatest period of influence was the first ten years of his tenure. From 1811 to 1823 his importance declined, in part due to the personnel on the Court with him—Justices Joseph Story and William Johnson, for instance—being great justices in their own right. After Gibbons, Marshall's influence on the Court, particularly in conference (meetings of the justices alone), began declining further, reaching a low point in the early 1830s. Marshall died 6 July 1835.

See alsoFletcher v. Peck; Gibbons v. Ogden; Judiciary Acts of 1801 and 1802; Marbury v. Madison; McCulloch v. Maryland; Presidency, The: John Adams; Presidency, The: Thomas Jefferson; Supreme Court; Supreme Court Justices .