Contact: rwetheri@smu.edu
Towards the end of winter in 1801, a gaunt and ungainly John Marshall walked briskly up the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Newly appointed by John Adams as Chief Justice, the Court was also new to this venue, having met in Philadelphia for the previous ten years. It was a step down from the light and airy State House to a musty, windowless conference room in the Capitol.
Marshall seemed to be a step down, as well. As the fourth Chief Justice, he was the least presentable. Awkward, hair
Celebrating America, Part III
The Marshall Court
unkempt, clothes disheveled, knee buckles dangling (look it up!), he was the picture of the ordinary. He was appropriate for a Court that had also been ordinary, having accomplished nothing of note theretofore in the young republic.
Yet, under his deceptive genius, the Court transformed from an asterisk to a coequal branch of government. Marshall knew that the Court, restricted to interpreting law as provided by the Constitution, needed to enlarge the scope of both itself and that document. The Constitution not only provided explicit powers to government, but implied powers as well. “The Constitution,” he wrote, “was intended to endure for ages to come,” which meant it needed to adapt. Article I, he argued in McCulloch v. Maryland, gave Congress authority to pass whatever laws were necessary to do its duty.
In Marbury v. Madison, Marshall established the power of judicial review, giving the Court teeth in legitimizing what Congress does. “It is emphatically the province of the Judicial Department,” he asserted, “to say what the law is.” In broadening the Constitution’s scope, Marshall was establishing the balance of power between the government and the states, and the balance of authority among the three branches of government.
His persuasiveness was built on paying attention silently and then arguing forcefully. “To listen well,” Marshall said, “is as powerful a means of communication and influence as to talk well.” As unappealing as his appearance may have been, he was a giant of a man.
It may be prophetic that two days after his death, on July 6, 1835, the Liberty Bell cracked.