John Marshall

John Marshall (September 24, 1755 – July 6, 1835) was a Virginia-born statesman, jurist, and Founding Father who became the fourth chief justice of the United States in 1801 and held the post until his death. His tenure is the longest of any chief justice, and he is considered one of the most consequential figures ever to sit on the Supreme Court. Before joining the judiciary, Marshall served briefly as U.S. secretary of state under President John Adams and as a U.S. representative from Virginia, placing him among the small group of Americans who have held constitutional office in all three branches of the federal government.

Marshall was born in a log cabin in Germantown, in the Colony of Virginia, in 1755. He joined the Continental Army after the Revolutionary War broke out and fought in several battles. Later in the war, he was admitted to the Virginia bar and elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. A strong supporter of the U.S. Constitution, he helped secure Virginia’s ratification. In 1797, President Adams sent him to France to negotiate an end to attacks on American shipping; the French government demanded bribes before talks could begin, an episode known as the XYZ Affair. After returning, Marshall led the Federalist Party in Congress. He became secretary of state in 1800 following a cabinet shake-up and played a key role in the Adams administration.

Adams appointed Marshall to the Supreme Court in 1801. Marshall quickly became the court’s dominant figure, largely through his personal influence over the other justices. He moved the court away from issuing separate opinions in each case, instead producing a single majority opinion that laid out a clear legal rule. The 1803 case *Marbury v. Madison* was the first major test of his leadership. In his opinion, Marshall established the principle of judicial review—the power of courts to strike down federal and state laws that conflict with the Constitution. He did so without provoking a direct clash with the executive branch, then led by President Thomas Jefferson. By asserting judicial review while avoiding a confrontation, Marshall reinforced the separation of powers and solidified the judiciary’s role as an independent, co-equal branch of government.

After 1803, the Marshall Court issued a series of landmark decisions that affirmed federal supremacy over the states. In *Fletcher v. Peck* and *Dartmouth College v. Woodward*, the court struck down state actions for violating the Contract Clause. *McCulloch v. Maryland* upheld the constitutionality of the Second Bank of the United States and ruled that states could not tax federal institutions. *Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee* and *Cohens v. Virginia* established that the Supreme Court could hear appeals from state courts in both civil and criminal matters. *Gibbons v. Ogden* held that the Commerce Clause prevented states from restricting navigation. In *Worcester v. Georgia*, Marshall declared unconstitutional a Georgia law that barred non-Native Americans from being on Native American lands without a state license. Marshall died of natural causes in 1835, and President Andrew Jackson appointed Roger Taney to succeed him.

Marshall was born on September 24, 1755, in a log cabin in Germantown, Virginia. Around the mid-1760s, his family moved northwest to what is now Markham, Virginia. His father, Thomas Marshall, worked as a surveyor and land agent for Lord Fairfax, earning a good income, but John grew up in a two-room log cabin with his parents and many siblings—he was the oldest of 15. One younger brother, James Markham Marshall, later served briefly as a federal judge. Marshall was a first cousin of U.S. Senator Humphrey Marshall and a first cousin, three times removed, of General George C. Marshall; he was also a distant cousin of Thomas Jefferson.

From childhood, Marshall was known for his good humor and his black eyes, which were described as “strong and penetrating, beaming with intelligence and good nature.” He had only one year of formal schooling, during which he befriended future president James Monroe. Encouraged by his parents, he read widely, including William Blackstone’s *Commentaries on the Laws of England* and Alexander Pope’s *An Essay on Man*. He was also tutored by the Reverend James Thomson, a Scottish deacon who lived with the family in exchange for room and board. Marshall credited his father as his greatest influence, writing that “to his care I am indebted for anything valuable which I may have acquired in my youth.” Thomas Marshall prospered as a surveyor and purchased an estate called Oak Hill in the 1770s.

After the Battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775, both John and his father volunteered for the 3rd Virginia Regiment. In 1776, John became a lieutenant in the 11th Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army. By July 1778, he had been promoted.