Kimberly McKenzie, age 16, of New Bedford, Mass., for her question:
WHO WAS JOHN MARSHALL?
John Marshall was the fourth chief justice of the United States Supreme Court. When he became chief justice in 1801, the court was poorly respected. By the time Marshall's term ended 34 years later with his death, the court had become vigorous and highly respected.
Marshall was called the "Great Chief Justice." He established the court's power to review legislative acts. The structure of the government had been made clear through Marshall's decisions and after court interpretations have rested heavily upon the strong principles he created.
Marshall's service as chief justice became a continuous argument between the Supreme Court and the Democratic Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Andrew Jackson.
President Jefferson and his followers believed in a weak judiciary and "states' rights." Marshall opposed these beliefs. His decisions established an extremely powerful Supreme Court and a very strong national government, with the right to override the states whenever national and state interests clashed.
Marshall was born in 1755 in Virginia. He joined the patriot army when the Revolutionary War broke out and served in Virginia, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. He said later that he had gone into the army as a Virginian but had come out as an American.
After studying law on his own, Marshall became a lawyer in 1781. He served in the Virginia Legislature and became a delegate to the state convention that adopted the new federal Constitution.
President Washington offered Marshall the position of attorney general but he declined. Later, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives.
In 1880, President John Adams appointed Marshall Secretary of State. In 1801, he appointed Marshall as Chief Justice.
Marshall believed in a strong federal government to enable the U.S. to act efficiently as a nation. Many of his decisions followed this line.
In one famous case in 1819, McCulloch vs. Maryland, Marshall upheld the power of Congress to create the United States Bank. In doing so, he laid down the principle of broad interpretation of the federal powers.
This same case also firmly established the doctrine that federal power must prevail over state power in case of conflict.
Most of the justices of the court, after 1811, were appointed by presidents who strongly opposed Marshall's ideas. The new justices also opposed Marshall, but they soon found themselves agreeing with his important opinions. Marshall had a way of winning the opposition to his side.
In cases defining the national power over interstate commerce, Marshall's broad interpretation set out principles which are as applicable in the most recent cases as they were in his time.