Rensselaer Journal, Volume 10, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 January 1901 — Centenial Anniversary of Chief Justice Marshall's Appointment [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Centenial Anniversary of Chief Justice Marshall's Appointment

John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, the centennial of whose appointment was this week celebrated all over the country, was born in Virginia in 1755. His family was one of the oldest in the colonies, his gradfather having settled in Virginia in 1650. His mother was Mary Isham Keith, a lineal descendant of Robert Keith, who was grand marshal of the Scottish army under Bruce. His father, Thomas Marshall, was a Virginia planter and a man who was noted for his rigid uprightness and his frankness in speech. When young John Marshall was, years after, a candidate fpr the Virginia legislature from Fauqquier county, only one vote was cast against him. When the elder Marshall heard of this one vote In opposition he declared that the man who cast it “could only have been actuated by spite and malice and must be punished.” Forthwith he set out to find the name of the single voter and the next time he met him gave him a sound thrashing. His Early Education. \ John Marshall was educated at home by his father and mother until he reached the age of 12 years. Then a private tutor was procured for him. At 14 he was sent to the school in Westmoreland county where Washington had been a student, and at which James Madison was one of his fellowpupils. He staid there but a year, coming back to the plantation at the end of that time to resume his studies under a private tutor. He never attended a college. For what was best in his early edu-

cation Chief Justice Marshall always gave credit to his mother, who was a woman of strong character. In his later years he declared that so strong had been the influence of his mother on him that he never failed to repeat every night the childish prayer of “Now I lay me down to sleep,” which he had learned at her knee. n Studied Latv at 18. When he was 18 years old he began the study of law. Almost immediately, however, the war of the revolution broke out and the young lawyer found it necessary to forsake his books for the sword. He joined a company of Virginia volunteers and devoted himself to training them for active service. His father, Thomas Marshall, was appointed colonel of a regiment of minute men, in which John became a lieutenant. By way of uniform the men of the regiment wore green hunting shirts on the breasts of which was embroidered the motto, “Liberty or Death,” and the regimental flag bore the image of a coiled rattlesnake with the warning message, “Don’t Tread on Me.” As weapons they carried rifles, knives and tomahawks. Almost without exception they were experienced hunters, good shots, and used to the harships of the chase. As Army Lieutenant. Lieut. Marshall early distinguished himself for bravery ai*L good judgment in command of his ifceif. He took part in all the most important battles of the war. He was exceedingly popular in the army, and was often chosen to act as umpire in disputes arising between both officers and men:. Thus at an extremely early age the judicial temperament, which afterward so greatly distinguished him, was recognized. In the army he became well acquainted with Gen. Washington and with Col. Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton he had met before in a surveying expedition in West Virginia, and for him especially he formed an attachment which lasted during his life. When in after years he was called upon to preside over the trial of Aaron Burr, the murderer of his friend, it was remarked as the stongest possible proof of the justice of his character that he could do so with such fairness and hon-

esty that detractors said he showed every partiality to Burr. A.# VUilliam and Mary College. In 1780 CapL John Marshall was sent back to Virginia to take charge of any additional troops which might be raised by that commonwealth, and there he took advantage of the opportunity to attend the law lectures at William and Mary College.. In the summer of that year he received a license to practice law, but when Gen. Leslie began his invasion of the state, Marshall went back to the army and remained in the field until January, 1781. Then he resigned his commission and resumed the study of law. Almost immediately the young soldier 'became prominent in public life. In the spring of 1782 he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses and In the fall a member of the executive council of the state. In January of 1783 he married Mary Willis Ambler, daughter of the state treasurer. Her mother had refused an offer of marriage from Thomas Jefferson to marry her father, and It is a cuious matter of history that her father’s brother was the successful suitor for the hand of the beautiful Miss Cary, who refused on at least two recorded occasions to become the wife of George Washington. Early Married Life. After his marriage John Marshall settled down to make his permanent home in Richmond. In 1784 he resigned his seat in the executive council of the state to devote himself to the practice of law, in which he was prominent and successful. Almost immediately after his resignation, however, his old

friends in Fauquier county chose him to represent them in the House of Burgesses. In 1787 he was chosen a member of the same body from the district which comprised the City of Richmond, and in that capacity he was chiefly instrumental in securing the ratification of the constitution of the United States, which he afterwards did so much to expound. The value of his services in this connection may be gathered from the fact that the leader of the forces opposed to the ratification of the constitution was Patrick Henry, to whose speeches Marshall was always expected to reply. -- As a Quoit Throtuer. But the future chief justice did not devote all his time to grave and serious pursuits. He was one of the founders and for many years the most popular member of the Richmond Quoit club, which was formed in 1778 and lasted for more than forty years. This famous club met every two weeks at grounds a mile outside the city of Richmond, where a dinner, the chief feature of which was a barbecued pig, was served before the game began. One of the things which the Quoit club has bequeathed to posterity is the recipe for its justly celebrated punch. It was composed of equal quantities of brandy, rum and Madeira, poured into a great bowl one-third filled with ice (no water), and flavored with lemons and sugar. This punch is still one of the boasts of Richmond. Wanted in Washington’s Cabinet In 1795 President Washington offered John Marshall the appointment of Attorney General of the United States, which he declined. He was now 40 years old, and stood at the head of the Virginia bar. Next year Washington wished him to succeed James Monroe as one of the envoys of the United States to France. This appointment he also declined, but when Adams him as one of the envoys to France in 1797 he felt that his duty to his country compelled him to accept it. He and his fellows were not successful, however, in establishing satisfactory relations with the French government,and Marshall drew up an elaborate statement, setting forth the views and re-

quirements of the United States, which was presented to Talleyrand before the envoys were ordered to leave the country. Elected to Congress. Marshall returned to United States in August, 1798, and Adams at once offered him a seat on the Supreme Bench, which he declined to accept In 1799 he was, much against his own wishes, elected to congress, in which body he served a single term! During this term he delivered a speech which is still regarded as one of the most authoritative expositions of international law in its bearing on the extradition of citizens of a foreign country. Before his term in Congress had expired he was made secretary of state in the cabinet of President Adams, and on Jan. 20, 1801, he was nominated by the president as chief justice of the supreme court. The nomination was promptly confirmed and Marshall took hie seat at once. During the same year Princeton university conferred the degree of doctor of laws upon him. For thirty-five years he served as chief justice, and, as has often been said, his best and most enduring monument consists of the thirty volumes of reports of his decisions and of those of the supreme court while he was at its head. In 1829 he, with Madison and Monroe, served as a delegate to the convention for revising the state constitution of Virginia. For six years more he remained on the bench of the supreme court. In the spring of 1835 he went to Philadelphia to seek medical advice and in that city he died. Besides his published opinion* he is

the author of a five-volume life of Washington, which was published in 1804. Many statues, busts and portraits of John Marshall are in existence. His figure is on the Washington monument at Richmond, Va., and there are two portraits in the consultation room of the supreme court at Washington.