His father rose up in society from a common background while his mother was from the wealthy Randolph family of Virginia. The oldest of fifteen children, John Marshall was born to Thomas and Mary Marshall in September 1755 on a plantation near Germantown, Virginia. He shaped what many still considered a federation of states into a more unified nation. The Supreme Court became equal in power, influence, and prestige to the president and Congress of the United States. Through his force of personality, Marshall made the federal judiciary a major branch of government as anticipated in the Constitution. By protecting contracts, including corporate charters, from state law restrictions, Marshall's Supreme Court decisions also played a major role in stabilizing U.S. In the early 1790s, Federalist Alexander Hamilton (1755–1804 see entry in volume 1) believed these implied powersĮxisted when Hamilton supported the establishment of the National Bank of the United States over James Madison's objections that it was unconstitutional. Marshall also supported a broad interpretation of the Constitution that claimed the existence of implied (unwritten) powers possessed by the Supreme Court to carry out the responsibilities specifically assigned to the government. Therefore, the Constitution assumed a supreme role in American law. Marshall did not consider it an agreement among states as others at the time did. Marshall treated the Constitution as a law made by the people through their representatives at the Constitutional Convention. His decisions also created the legal field of constitutional law as it would be practiced for the next two centuries. His defense and interpretation of the Constitution laid the foundation for a strong nation. Marshall took part in over one thousand court decisions, writing the court's opinion on approximately half of them. He also resolved numerous conflicts between state and federal governments.

In his court position, Marshall assumed the role of chief defender of the U.S. This theory is essentially attached to a written constitution, and is consequently to be considered, by this Court, as one of the fundamental principles of our society.' 'An act of the legislature, repugnant to the Constitution, is void. Over the next thirty-four years, however, Marshall made it into one of the most powerful positions in the national government. At the time, it was a weak federal position. Senate approved Marshall as chief justice of the Supreme Court. His fellow Virginian revolutionaries included George Washington (1732–1799 see entry in volume 2), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826 see entry in volume 1), James Madison (1751–1836 see entry in volume 2), and Edmund Randolph (1753–1813 see entry in volume 2).

John Marshall grew up as a Virginia gentleman who was accepted into the most famous group of national leaders this nation ever produced.

John marshall history