John Marshall

About this book

This book presents Marshall's own words, the views of his contemporaries, and analyses in retrospect by leading historians and political scientists. In 1801 John Marshall became chief justice of a Supreme Court that was only vaguely endowed with power and generally held in low esteem. By the end of Marshall's thirty-four years of service, his judicial opinions had decisively established the Supreme Court's authority and special role in the American governmental system.