Title

John Marshall and the heroic age of the Supreme Court

Description

John Marshall (1755-1835) was arguably the most important judicial figure in American history. As the fourth chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving during the formative years of the Republic from 1801 to 1835, he helped move the Court from the fringes of power to the epicenter of constitutional government. His great opinions in cases like Marbury v. Madison and McCulloch v. Maryland, cited by the Court thousands of times over the years, are still part of the working discourse of constitutional law in America. Drawing on a new and definitive edition of Marshall's papers, R. Kent Newmyer combines engaging narrative with new historiographical insights in a fresh interpretation of John Marshall's life in the law.."Newmyer unfolds Marshall's early Virginia years - his Americanization in Fauquier County before the Revolution, his decision to fight for independence as "a principled soldier," and his emergence as a constitutional nationalist in the 1780s. Marshall's experience as a Federalist politician and a leading Virginia lawyer during the turbulent partisan decade of the 1790s, Newmyer argues, defined his ideas about judicial review and the role of the Supreme Court as a curb on party-based, states' rights radicalism."--BOOK JACKET.

Identifier

996534

807127019

Creator

Newmyer, R Kent

Source

Brian Lamb Booknotes Collection

Gift of Brian Lamb, 2011.

Catalog record

Language

eng

Date

2001

Program air date: February 24, 2002

Publisher

Louisiana State University Press

George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections & Archives

Text

Transcription of Annotations
Notes from front endpapers and front flyleaf: "Heroes: Thomas Marshall, Patrick Henry, George Washington. - How deep was the "unrelenting mutual hatred" between Jeff. and Marshall? - If you fought in the revolution, you got 4000 acres of land. - Marshall and Jefferson were cousins. - Who did Adams offer Court Justice before Marshall? - Marshall: tall, sinewy, thick head of hair; socializer, nonjudgmental, devoid of malice. - Marshall, a moderate federalist. - Jefferson, a republican. - Ran for Congress 1799. - XYZ mission to France with Pinckney and Gerry. - Sec. of State under Adams; nominated Jan. 20, 1801, confirmed Jan. 27. - Uncontested power of judicial review; Marshall feared state legislators. - 6 yrs. as a soldier - 32 yrs. at Ratification of Consti[tution]; 6 yrs. novice lawyer and member of Virginia leg.; died 1835 at 79 - remained a "young man of the revolution"; came from family place at Oak Hill at 19. - Why did he fight in the 1st place? - He was one of 15. - Formal education: brief stint at W. and Mary, studied with Rev. Thomson and Campbell: Bible, English Lit. - Shakespeare, Pope, etc. - William Blackstone - Commentaries on law. - He was more American than English. - Rights of property - paramount. - Work on Marshall Farm done by slaves; oldest son was John; a walker - chief walking companion of JQA. - The leveling effect of the frontier - he had an obsession with acquiring land. - Wartime: Marshall learned "people were the ultimate source of power in a republic", p. 24. - Washington learned the "danger of self-interest and ambition". - Marshall chose to support Constitution in light of opposition from fellow Virginians. - Wanted to make Mary Ambler his wife (Polly); began law practice in Fauquier County, lives at Oak Hill; Polly in Richmond - married Jan. 3, 1783. - Two sons,Thomas, Jaquelin ([17]84, [17]87); [17]89-[17]92 lost 4 children; Polly went on to have 4, led to illness, "insane" maybe, died 1831. - Joined Richmond's slave holders. - Preference for John Locke, was a land speculator; his distrust of state government; importance of land greed in American life. - House of Delegates at 26 in 1782. - Suggested judicial reform in 1784; coming to belief that only those with property should govern, p. 45. - Constitutional Ratifying Conventions, June 1788; 33 yrs. old; Marshall made 3 speeches. - Albert Beveridge says Marshall's one conception [is] "American Nationalism", p. 267. - How did the XYZ mission make Marshall into a genuine American hero? - 4 days: Adams made him Sec. of War, then Secretary of State - 9 months, then Chief Justice. - He was a land speculator like Talleyrand who owned some American land. - Demanded a monetary tribute, bribe." - Notes from end flyleaf and back endpapers: "Slavery, p. 414. - Marshall's household slaves 11 or 12 throughout course of his life. - Virginia: 400,000 slaves; Richmond: 38.6% slaves. - Not evident he whipped slaves as T.J. did. - At death gave Robin Spurlock choice of freedom - stayed with his daughter Mary. - Did not condemn it on moral grounds, he simply accepted it. - Lifetime member of American Colonization Society; 12,000 free blacks emigrated to Liberia. - He spoke for the majority in 49% of all cases heard during his term; 59% of all constitutional law cases. - Wrote massive biography of George Washington; unlike Webster he did not quest for fame. - He was born an aristocrat. - Liberty Bell cracked while tolling his death. - Joseph Story convinced him to write an auto-biographical letter in 1827. - Lincoln worked to preserve what Marshall proclaimed in his opinion. - When Jefferson was sworn in by Marshall in 1801, T.J. felt federal judiciary would have to be humbled. - Jefferson vs. Marshall, p. 149. - J.M. saw T.J. as an evil genius behind states' rights movement. - J.M. wanted to energize the court; T.J. wanted to humble it. - Court was out of sync with rise of political parties; Court of six. - Marbury (William): in 1803 Court's future was uncertain. - Role of J.M.'s brother James in case. - Attack on Samuel Chase was House trying to get back at Court for declaring Marbury or legislation unconstitutional. - Aaron Burr - July 1804 - Hamilton killed; came before Marshall's Richmond Circuit Court charged with treason; various phases of treason trial lasted from March to mid-Sept. 1807. - You say Pres. T.J. came off as impetuous, vindictive and self-righteous; Marshall was patient, methodical and disarmingly modest when pushing for Court's powers, p. 209. - Law should govern, not men; he was a believer in the intent of the framers; he was not a status quo conservative. - Slaves: owned, rented, bought, sold them, no number is definitive, p. 329. - Marshall's intellectual face-off with Spencer Roane, John Taylor, John Randolph, Jefferson; Marshall speaks as a Burkean conservative. - 1) McCulloch: universal touchstone of constitutional interpretation; pivotal position in establishing principle of "Judicial Review" - 2nd Bank of U.S. 2) Cohens: definitive statement on authority of Court's Appellate standing; lottery tickets sale in defiance of Virginia Law, Sec. 25, p. 364; Spencer Roane. 3) Marbury." -- Annotations by Brian Lamb in the margins and underlining of pertinent phrases throughout the book.

Subject

"Marshall, John, 1755-1835."

"United States. Supreme Court--Biography."

"Judges--United States--Biography."

Relation

Original Booknotes interview

Rights

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