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JOHN MARSHALL
was born on September 24, 1755, in Germantown, Virginia.
Following service in the Revolutionary War, he attended
a course of law lectures conducted by George Wythe at
the College of William and Mary and continued the private
study of law until his admission to practice in 1780.
Marshall was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates
in 1782, 1787, and 1795. In 1797, he accepted appointment
as one of three envoys sent on a diplomatic mission to
France. Although offered appointment to the United States
Supreme Court in 1798, Marshall preferred to remain in
private practiced. Marshall was elected to the United
States House of Representatives in 1799, and in 1800 was
appointed Secretary of State by President John Adams.
The following year, President Adams nominated Marshall
Chief Justice of the United States, and the Senate confirmed
the appointment on January 27, 1801. Notwithstanding his
appointment as Chief Justice, Marshall continued to serve
as Secretary of State throughout President Adams’
term and, at President Thomas Jefferson’s request,
he remained in that office briefly following Jefferson’s
inauguration. Marshall served as Chief Justice for 34
years, the longest tenure of any Chief Justice. During
his tenure, he helped establish the Supreme Court as the
final authority on the meaning of the Constitution. Marshall
died on July 6, 1835, at the age of seventy-nine.
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