American Judiciary, Part 4: The Early Life of John Marshall

The New Nation
Written By Tom Hand

John Marshall is perhaps the most impactful and influential man in American history who was never president. Almost single handedly, Marshall created our national judiciary and established it as a branch of government co-equal to the legislative and executive branches. He was born on September 24, 1755, on the western frontier of the colony of Virginia and was raised in a frontier two-room log cabin, which he shared with his parents and numerous siblings. Obtaining an education on the frontier of Virginia was difficult and John had received less than two years of  formal instruction. And except for a short six-week stint at the College of William and Mary studying law under George Wythe, that was all the schooling Marshall would ever receive.

Tom Hand, creator and publisher of Americana Corner, discusses the early life of John Marshall, and why it still matters today. 

Images courtesy of National Portrait Gallery - Smithsonian Institution, Wikimedia, Library of Congress, Encyclopedia Virginia, University of South Florida, New York Public Library, U.S. Army. 

RELATED ARTICLES
American Judiciary, Part 10: The Treason Trial of Aaron Burr
American Judiciary, Part 10: The Treason Trial of Aaron Burr

Aaron Burr's grand scheme to create his own country, possibly in Mexico or from United States territory, began to collapse late in 1806, practically before it ever got started. This empire in the sky built largely in Burr’s fertile mind was swiftly coming to an end.

American Judiciary, Part 9: The Burr Conspiracy
American Judiciary, Part 9: The Burr Conspiracy

Aaron Burr was one of the most talented of our founding fathers, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Continental Army, an accomplished attorney in New York, a United States Senator, and the third Vice President. But Burr also happens to be the only sitting or former President or Vice President ever tried for treason in arguably the most important criminal trial in American history.

American Judiciary, Part 8: The Impeachment of Samuel Chase
American Judiciary, Part 8: The Impeachment of Samuel Chase

There has been only one instance in our nation’s history of a United States Supreme Court Justice being impeached, and that occurred in 1804 during a significant political tussle over the independence and power of the judiciary. The justice in question was Samuel Chase and his alleged crimes seem trivial in retrospect, but Chase was simply a pawn in an ongoing battle of wills between two American icons, President Thomas Jefferson and Chief Justice John Marshall that took place in the early 1800s. And the decision reached in his case would have a profound impact on the future of the country. 

American Judiciary, Part 7: Marbury v. Madison
American Judiciary, Part 7: Marbury v. Madison

Marbury v Madison is the most consequential legal decision in our nation’s history because it established the concept of judicial review in the United States. This principal grants to the judiciary the responsibility to review laws for their constitutionality and gives it the power to void legislation it finds repugnant to the Constitution. That decision was rendered by John Marshall, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1803, but the road to that decision extends further back.

American Judiciary, Part 4: The Early Life of John Marshall
American Judiciary, Part 4: The Early Life of John Marshall

John Marshall is perhaps the most impactful and influential man in American history who was never president. Almost single handedly, John Marshall created our national judiciary and established it as a branch of government co-equal to the legislative and executive branches.

American Judiciary, Part 3: Last Bastion of the Federalists
American Judiciary, Part 3: Last Bastion of the Federalists

After the Federalists were voted out of office in the fall of 1800 by Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Party, the need for reform to the judicial system, the last stronghold of Federalist authority, became the most pressing concern of the outgoing Adams administration.

American Judiciary, Part 2: An Independent Federal Judiciary
American Judiciary, Part 2: An Independent Federal Judiciary

One of the foundational governing principles of the Constitution created at the Philadelphia Convention in the summer of 1787 was a separation of powers between the national legislative, executive, and judicial branches. But while significant operating concepts and responsibilities were set forth for Congress and the Executive in the Constitution, the delegates barely addressed the specific structure of the Judicial branch.

American Judiciary, Part 1: Courts in Early America
American Judiciary, Part 1: Courts in Early America

The court system in Colonial America, not surprisingly, mirrored that of Great Britain and became one of the great sources of discontent as American colonists moved towards independence. The main issue was over who would control or have the greatest influence on the judiciary.

Tom Hand
Previous

American Judiciary, Part 5: John Marshall, Soldier of the Revolution
Next

American Judiciary, Part 3: Last Bastion of the Federalists