John Marshall

John Marshall
Current Court Information:
Supreme Court of the United States
Title:	Former Chief Justice
Position:	Seat #1
Service:
Appointed by:	John Adams
Active:	1/31/1801 - 7/6/1835
Preceded by:	Oliver Ellsworth
Succeeded by:	Roger Brooke Taney
Personal History
Born:	September 24, 1755
Home State:	Prince William County, VA
Deceased:	July 6, 1835
Law School:	Read law, 1780
Military service:	Culpeper Minute Men, 1775-1776 Continental Army, 1776-1780

John Marshall (1755-1835) served as Supreme Court Chief Justice from 1801-1835. Marshall was the fourth American to serve in that capacity. He joined the court in 1801 after an appointment from John Adams. At the time of appointment, Marshall was the U.S. Secretary of State. He served until his death on July 6, 1835. He is best known for establishing constitutional judicial review in Marbury v. Madison

Early life and education

Marshall was the eldest of fifteen children born to Thomas and Mary Randolph Keith Marshall, people of modest means who instilled in their eldest son the importance of a classically trained education. When he was fourteen, he spent a year at a near-by academy studying Latin, followed by an additional year studying with his parish priest. Marshall spent the majority of his formative years in independent study. After serving in the Continental Army, Marshall resigned his commission in 1780, and began a three-month tenure at the College of William and Mary in order to study law under George Wythe, a man of acclaimed legal acumen, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Military service

At the age of 23, he served in the 3rd Virginia Regiment as a Captain in the Continental Army, having previously served as a Lieutenant with the Culpeper Minutemen. His service in the Revolutionary War confirmed in Marshall a nationalistic fervor, no doubt shaping his future jurisprudence. "After the war, his partiality to union and nationalism hardened into an unwavering conviction, as peace exposed the dangerous weaknesses of a Confederation government that lacked the power to tax or to impose a uniform commercial policy."

Professional career

One of his earliest cases, Hite v. Fairfax, pertained to the original ownership of Fairfax County, Virginia, long held by the Lords Fairfax, who were landed English gentry. Marshall counseled Lord Fairfax's proxy, and won the case. The victory would cement his future as a formidable legal foe. By 1782, he would be both a member of the Virginia bar and Virginia legislature, where he emphatically urged the ratification of the Constitution.

Before becoming Chief Justice, Marshall invested his talents in other political realms. After a successful career in the Virginia legislature, Marshall was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1799.

Marshall's talents were recognized by a wide range of standing-leadership; George Washington, James Madison, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson--among the Founding generation--all tried, some successfully, others not, to coerce Marshall into taking high-ranking positions within various branches of government. In 1800 he accepted President John Adams's request to serve as Secretary of the State, having two years previously rejected his request to serve on the Supreme Court.

XYZ Affair

Marshall gained great notoriety as a participant in the much publicized XYZ Affair (1797-1798) in which he, along with Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and Elbridge Gerry hoped to settle ongoing French-American hostilities, propelled by John Jay's Treaty of 1795 and French maritime aggression against American ships. The Paris-bound trio arrived in France, and were met with an absence of cordiality and an abundance of back-door scheming. Three men, acting in France's interest and referred to as X, Y and Z, demanded that the American envoy give the French $250,000 before they would be granted an audience with Charles Maurice de Talleyrand (the French Foreign Minister). They refused, the situation worsened, and Marshall returned home.

Judicial career

Supreme Court of the United States

He was nominated by President John Adams on January 20, 1801 to a seat vacated by Oliver Ellsworth. He was confirmed by the Senate on January 27, 1801, and received commission on January 31, 1801. He served until his death on July 6, 1835. He was succeeded to this post by Roger Brooke Taney.

Notable cases

Marbury v. Madison

Supreme Court of the United States      *Marbury v. Madison

Marshall's appointment as Supreme Court Chief Justice was one of many of President Adams's midnight appointments, which included the commission of 42 Justices of the Peace. Many of the commissions were never delivered, on an account of political sparring between the out-going Adams and the recently sworn-in President Jefferson. The most famous of these rebuked commissions belonged to William Marbury, who, in a twist of irony, would contest his loss in front of Marshall and his recently endowed court. The case would become known as Marbury v. Madison, and it has remained at the forefront of American judicial history ever since.

See also

• History of the Supreme Court

External links

• Wikipedia Article on Talleyrand
• XYZ Affair @ Infoplease
• The Supreme Court Historical Society Biography
• Biography

References

Federal judicial offices
Preceded by: Oliver Ellsworth	Supreme Court 1801–1835 Seat #1	Succeeded by: Roger Brooke Taney