Biographical Profile of John Marshall

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Biographical Profile of John Marshall
John Marshall was born on the 24th day of September 1755 in present-day Virginia. He was the first-born in the family of Thomas Marshall and had fourteen siblings. His father was Thomas Marshall, a close friend of General Washington, while his mother was Mary Randolph Keith, a relative to the family of Thomas Jefferson. Largely self-educated, Marshall dropped his law studies and joined his father to fight in the American War of Independence in 1775, under General Washington. As a Continental Army officer, Marshall fought in the battles of Monmouth, Germantown, and Brandywine. He persevered the agony at Valley Forge during the 1777-78 harsh winter (William & Mary Law School). These experiences shaped Marshall’s future career as a supreme court chief justice and an outstanding patriot of the United States (U.S.).
After serving in the military, Marshall briefly studied law. He served in the Virginia state legislature after his appointment between 1780-1797. He later served within the U.S. House of Representatives. Marshall was the state secretary until 1801 when President John Adams made him the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Only in his mid-40s Marshall become the fourth chief justice of the U.S. (Brookhiser 74). At his appointment, the Supreme Court did not have an office, and they had to meet in a Capitol basement room. Although the Court had insignificant power when he took office, Marshall changed the status quo under his tenure. He changed the Supreme Court into a governmental entity that promoted the interpretation and understanding of the Constitution. In addition, he increased the Supreme Court’s authority by placing it on equal footing with the legislature and the executive institutions. Marshall met his death in 1835 while still serving as the country’s chief justice – a position held for thirty-four years. He remains the chief justice who served the longest in U.S. history.
I selected John Marshall because of his status in America’s collective memory. Marshall depicted different faces and personalities in his cap...