John Marshall was born on September 24, 1755 in Prince William County, Virginia. When John was ten, his father decided that they were going to move into a valleyin the Blue Ridge Mountains, almost thirty miles from the house they lived. John’s parents were not well educated but they could read and write.
The bookswere very hard to take care of and were very expensive. Marshall had a housebible but other than that they have almost no books to refer to. John’s fatherThomas was good friends with George Washington. Washington had a library and helet John use and was the books were very helpful. The Marshall family haddecided that John would be a lawyer. John went to William and Mary College,where he attended the law lectures of George Wythe.
John Marshall joined theCulpeper Minute Men and was chosen as the Lieutenant. John’s grandfather, on hismother’s side, had been one of Yorktown’s wealthiest men but the war had ruinedhim financially. The family had taken a small tenement apartment next to theheadquarters of Colonel Thomas Marshall who extended his protection. Marshall’sprivate law practice continuously grew. He became a well-known attorney but hisdress habits didn’t change. Then he hired the best dressed attorney he couldfind for the customary one hundred dollars.
Finally Marshall went to court to ahearing and was so deeply impressed that he pleaded to take the case. The fellowhad paid the lawyer. He only had five dollars left and he took the case. In1797, President John Adams appointed him to an American Mission to France to aidin the trade negotiations. John Marshall returned to the United States to beenthusiastically received by most of the country. Marshall was a part of theMarbury vs.
Madison trial, his opinion of the trial was his intellectual and ofmoral force and he foreshadowed the views he would express in later trials. After becoming the First Chief Justice Marshall was asked by the nephew ofGeorge Washington to write the official biography. He was unprepared to writethe biography but he decided to do it anyway. The biography that he wrote tookfour years to write and was five volumes. John Marshall fought in many trialsduring his lifetime, they are: Marbury vs.
Madison fought in 1803 McColloch Vs. Maryland fought in 1819 Dartmouth College vs. Woodward fought in 1819 Cohens vs. Virginia fought in 1821 Gibbons vs. Odgen fought in 1831 Cherokee Nation vs.
State of Georgia fought in 1831 Three years after the Cherokee Nation vs. Stateof Georgia trial John Marshall died. Now, in his honor, there is a dedicated lawschool, in Chicago, named after him because of his accomplishments. JohnMarshall Law School is where my father attended law school.
