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America has been bountifully blessed with great and good men.
Washington 'The father'—I was about to say—'founder of his country';
Jefferson who taught us the beauty of plain dress but rich manners;
Hamilton who placed a tottering treasury upon a strong foundation,—Great
indeed were all of these, but there was born in Fouquier county, Virginia, on
the 24th day of September, 1755, a child who was to be known to all
posterity as the great Chief Justice of the United States. This was John
Marshall.
He was the eldest of a family of fifteen children. In early boyhood he took
an interest in poetry and was perfectly familiar with Dryden, Pope, Milton
and Shakespeare. He was for many years full of dreamy romance and
poetical enthusiasm, and his solitary meditations were usually amid the
wildest scenery.
After a short college course at West Moreland, where he had as a fellow-
student James Monroe, and a further classical education under a resident
clergyman; he, at eighteen, began the study of law, but enlisted to fight the
British before he obtained a license to practice. He soon took a part with his
regiment, of which his father was major, in the battle of Great Bridge
leading, as lieutenant, in a flanking party which advanced in the face of a
murderous fire and put an end to the engagement.
He belonged to the Culpepper Minute-men, who wore green hunting shirts
with "Liberty or Death" on the bosom in white letters, and who carried a
banner which displayed a coiled rattlesnake with the motto, "Don't tread on
me." He took a part in the battle of Brandywine, Germantown and
Monmouth; he shared the hardships of Valley Forge; in fact saw almost
continuous service from the time he enlisted at the beginning until the
glorious end, for which he had so sanguinely waited, came.
Meanwhile he had studied some, and had attended a course of lectures
delivered by the renowned Mr Wythe at William and Mary College, and had
secured a license to practice. At the close of hostilities he commenced
business as an attorney; with marked success from the first.
That extraordinary comprehension and grasp of mind by which difficulties
were seized and overcome without parade, commended the attention of the
courts of justice; and his sweet temper and loving ways gained for him a
host of friends. Such a man, who possessed not only ability but a perfect
control of himself,
. He soon rose to distinction, being elected
to a seat in the council of the State. He was married in 1783 to the daughter
of the State treasurer and moved to Richmond.
In spite of this removal his old neighbors re-elected him to represent their
county, and in 1787 he became a member from his adopted county, Henrico.
As is well-known, the Federal constitution was considered by many an
approach to monarchy. It was held by Jefferson and many of his followers
as tending toward that state of things of which they had so much to fear. At
the Virginia Convention, assembled to discuss the constitution drawn up at
Philadelphia, where great opposition was developed, Mr. Marshall's speech
had a crushing effect on its assailants. He next became a member from
Richmond, that city now being entitled to a representative, where he
remained for three years.
Virginia was the headquarters of the State rights party, headed by
Jefferson. Mr. Marshall supported the administration of Washington,
defining the Federal view so clearly that it carried conviction, yet so calmly
and with such moderation of tone, that when he retired from that body in
1792 he left not an enemy behind. He now devoted himself to his
profession with unbounded success. While attending to a large legal
practice, he also frequently appeared at public meetings in support of the
administration of Washington.
In 1795 he was again a member of the House. In the violent debate over
Jay's treaty he became its champion, and by a most eloquent speech, before
a body that had condemned it, he secured an amendment to their resolution,
reversing their former decision, and the passage of one favorable to the
policy. Washington offered him a place in his Cabinet, but he refused, as it
would interfere with his profession; later he was offered the mission to
France, which he also declined. In 1797 President Adams sent another
delegation to France, which he accepted, and with Pickney and Gerry
proceeded to Paris.
Upon his return he immediately resumed his practice, but was urged to
defend his party. Washington finally prevailed upon him to run for
Congress, to which he was elected in 1799. Even during the canvass Adams
offered him a seat on the Supreme Bench, which he declined. Within a few
weeks from the time of his entrance upon his duties as Congressman, he
was called upon to announce in that body the death of Washington. His
words were few, but were ever remembered as producing a profound
impression.
Washington, the great Federal leader was dead. Virginia had passed the
resolution of 1798, recording her solemn protest, and the Republicans were
flushed with the daily increasing revulsion against the Federal Government.
At this crisis John Marshall appeared in Congress and stepped to the front
as the leader of his party. In 1800 he was appointed Secretary of War.
Before he entered upon his duties he is placed at the head of the Cabinet as
Secretary of State, and a few months later his name is sent by the President
to Congress, and is unanimously confirmed for the position of Chief Justice
of the United States.
John Marshall has been heretofore recognized as a man of great ability,
and now he takes a position which he holds for life, and where his influence
is paramount. On one occasion a young house-keeper was swearing lustily
because he could find no one to carry his turkey home for him. A plain man
standing by offered to perform the service, and when they arrived at the
door the young man asked, 'What shall I pay you, sir'? 'O nothing,' replied
the old man; 'It was on my way, and no trouble.' 'Who is that polite old
gentleman,' asked the young man of a bystander. The reply was, 'That is the
Chief Justice of the United States.' The young man drank the bitter cup
without further comment.
An eminent writer once said of him: Here is John Marshall, whose mind
seems to be an inexhaustible quarry from which he draws the materials and
builds his fabrics rude and Gothic, but of such strength that neither time nor
force can beat them down; a fellow who would not turn off a single step
from the right line of his argument, though a paradise should rise to tempt
him.
What more could be said of him,—only that he died at Philadelphia on the
6th of July, 1835; more would be superfluous.
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