John Marshall: The Supreme Court's Chief Justice Who Transformed the Young Republic

A hero in America's war against British tyranny, John Marshall with his heroics as Chief Justice turned the Supreme Court into a bulwark against presidential and congressional tyranny and saved American democracy. In this startling biography, award-winning author Harlow Giles Unger reveals how Virginia-born John Marshall emerged from the Revolutionary War's bloodiest battlefields to become one of the nation's most important Founding Fathers: America's greatest Chief Justice. Marshall served his country as an officer, Congressman, diplomat, and Secretary of State before President John Adams named him the nation's fourth Chief Justice, the longest-serving in American history. Marshall transformed the Supreme Court from an irrelevant appeals court into a powerful branch of government -- and provoked the ire of thousands of Americans who, like millions today, accused him and the court of issuing decisions that were tantamount to new laws and Constitutional amendments. And the Court's critics were right! Marshall admitted as much. With nine decisions that shocked the nation, John Marshall and his court assumed powers to strike down laws it deemed unconstitutional. In doing so, Marshall's court acted without Constitutional authority, but its decisions saved American liberty by protecting individual rights and the rights of private business against tyranny by federal, state, and local government. A Soul-stirring Biography Of John Marshall, The Young Republic's Great Chief Justice Who Led The Supreme Court To Power And Brought Law And Order To The Nation. In The Political Turmoil That Convulsed America After George Washington's Death, The Surviving Founding Fathers Went Mad--literally Pummeling Each Other In Congress And Challenging One Another To Deadly Duels In Their Quest For Power. Out Of The Political Intrigue, One Man Emerged To Restore Calm And Dignity To The Government: John Marshall. The Longest-serving Chief Justice In American History, Marshall Transformed The Supreme Court From An Irrelevant Appeals Court Into The Powerful And Controversial Branch Of Government That Americans Today Either Revere Or Despise. Drawing On Rare Documents, Harlow Giles Unger Shows How, With Nine Key Decisions, Marshall Rewrote The Constitution, Reshaped Government, And Prevented Thomas Jefferson From Turning Tyrant. John Adams Called His Appointment Of Marshall To Chief Justice His Greatest Gift To The Nation And The Pride Of My Life. -- Chaos! -- Commotions -- We, Sir, Idolize Democracy! -- Quoits Was The Game -- The Great Divide -- The Two Happiest People On Earth -- X, Y, Z -- Our Washington Is No More -- Midnight Judges -- Mr. Chief Justice -- Party Rage -- A Deadly Interview -- The Trial -- The Court Must Be Obeyed -- An Era Of Good Feelings -- The Final Arbiter -- Appendix: Nine Great Cases Of John Marshall's Supreme Court. Harlow Giles Unger. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 351-360) And Index. "A soul-stirring biography of John Marshall, the young Republic's great chief justice who led the Supreme Court to power and brought law and order to the nation. In the political turmoil that convulsed America after George Washington's death, the surviving Founding Fathers went mad-literally pummeling each other in Congress and challenging one another to deadly duels in their quest for power. Out of the political intrigue, one man emerged to restore calm and dignity to the government: John Marshall. The longest-serving chief justice in American history, Marshall transformed the Supreme Court from an irrelevant appeals court into the powerful and controversial branch of government that Americans today either revere or despise. Drawing on rare documents, Harlow Giles Unger shows how, with nine key decisions, Marshall rewrote the Constitution, reshaped government, and prevented Thomas Jefferson from turning tyrant. John Adams called his appointment of Marshall to chief justice his greatest gift to the nation and "the pride of my life."-- Provided by publisher Table of Contents......Page 6 List of Illustrations......Page 8 Acnkowledgments......Page 10 Introduction......Page 12 1. Chaos!......Page 18 2. Commotions......Page 42 3. "We, Sir, Idolize Democracy!"......Page 62 4. Quoits Was the Game......Page 82 5. The Great Divide......Page 98 6. The Two Happiest People on Earth......Page 112 7. X, Y, Z......Page 128 8. Our Washington Is No More......Page 154 9. Midnight Judges......Page 170 10. Mr. Chief Justice......Page 194 11. Party Rage......Page 214 12. A Deadly Interview......Page 232 13. The Trial......Page 250 14. The Court Must Be Obeyed......Page 268 15. An Era of Good Feelings......Page 286 16. The Final Arbiter......Page 304 Appendix: Nine Great Cases of John Marshall's Supreme Court......Page 332 Notes......Page 338 Bibliography......Page 362 Index......Page 372