Marshall was born on September 24, 1755 as the eldest son of Thomas and Mary Randolph Marshall. John was to become the oldest son of 15 children. At the age of ten John’s father moved his family 30 miles to the town of Blue Ridge Mountains. Long before John had any real voice in the path of his future career, both John and his mother decided that he was to become a lawyer. It was because of this dream that the Marshall’s filled their house with many books. While most families at this time did not even own a single book, the Marshall household contained several, literature such as the bible, Shakespeare, and Pope. By the age of 12 Marshall was able to write word for word Pope’s moral essays

Marshall served in the House of Delegates from 1782-1790 and again from 1795-1796. Marshall became a prominent leader of the Federalist Party. He attended the Virginia Convention debates, and worked hard for the ratification of the United States Constitution. Though his hard work, Marshall was offered several positions in Washington, in which he graciously refused. Washington finally had their way in persuading Marshall to serve as a member of a commission to arbitrate diplomatic affairs, often known as the XYZ Affair. Failure of the XYZ Affair stemmed partially from Marshall’s refusal to bow down to French bribes for Tallyrand. Even after the failure of XYZ, Marshall was gladly welcomed home where he was elected to the House of Representatives spending only one term in Congress in 1799. Marshall was soon appointed to serve as Secretary of State in the cabinet of President John Adams, and a year later on January 31st, 1801, was appointed Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court at the young age of 45.

John’s early education came from a Scottish Minister who was being tried out by the local congregation. Then in 1772, John attended the Academy of Reverend Archibald Campbell. Most important of his early education, John attended the prestigious college of William and Mary for a period of six weeks in 1779. At William and Mary, John studied law and gained greater knowledge and desire to continue on his path to becoming a lawyer. It is said that Marshall took a philosophy class taught by Madison. Marshall was admitted to the bar in 1780 and began to practice in the western United States.

Once Marshall was admitted to the bar, he joined the ranks of the Continental Army alongside the company of his father Thomas. John became a member of the 3D Virginia Regiment. Under the direction of Major Henry Lee, John was given the rank of lieutenant and soon after rose in ranks to captain. Marshall fought in major battles such as “little bunker hill”, Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth.

John Marshall dies in Philadelphia in 1835. His body was brought back to Virginia and laid next to his dearest wife, Mary, who died in 1831. Marshall defined what it was to be united under one nation and to live under the order of one law. Throughout his 34 year term Marshall took the Supreme Court that was once thought to be useless and established the Constitution as its bedrock and the voice of supreme law.

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