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

385 Pages·2014·6.557 MB·English

by  Unger, Harlow Giles

John
Marshall
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The House that John Marshall Built:
The United States Supreme Court. (Library of Congress)
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John
Marshall
THE CHIEF JUSTICE WHO SAVED THE NATION
HARLOW GILES UNGER
DA CAPO PRESS
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
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Copyright © 2014 by Harlow Giles Unger
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
publisher. Printed in the United States of America. For information, address Da Capo
Press, 44 Farnsworth Street, Third Floor, Boston, MA 02210.
Designed by Trish Wilkinson
Set in 11.5 point Adobe Garamond Pro by The Perseus Books Group
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Unger, Harlow G., 1931– author.
John Marshall : the chief justice who saved the nation / Harlow Giles Unger.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-306-82220-9 (hardback) — ISBN 978-0-306-82221-6 (e-book)
1. Marshall, John, 1755–1835. 2. Judges—United States—Biography. 3. United
States. Supreme Court—Biography. I. Title.
KF8745.M3U54 2014
347.73'2634—dc23
[B] 2014008405
First Da Capo Press edition 2014
Published by Da Capo Press
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
www.dacapopress.com
Da Capo Press books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the U.S. by
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[email protected].
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Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
CHAPTER 1 Chaos! 7
CHAPTER 2 Commotions 31
CHAPTER 3 “We, Sir, Idolize Democracy!” 51
CHAPTER 4 Quoits Was the Game 71
CHAPTER 5 The Great Divide 87
CHAPTER 6 The Two Happiest People on Earth 101
CHAPTER 7 X, Y, Z 117
CHAPTER 8 Our Washington Is No More 143
CHAPTER 9 Midnight Judges 159
CHAPTER 10 Mr. Chief Justice 183
CHAPTER 11 Party Rage 203
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vi | Contents
CHAPTER 12 A Deadly Interview 221
CHAPTER 13 The Trial 239
CHAPTER 14 The Court Must Be Obeyed 257
CHAPTER 15 An Era of Good Feelings 275
CHAPTER 16 The Final Arbiter 293
APPENDIX: Nine Great Cases of John Marshall’s Supreme Court 321
Notes 327
Bibliography 351
Index 361
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List of Illustrations
Maps
Virginia’s Northern Neck 43
The United States after 1783 53
Illustrations
Frontispiece: The House that John Marshall Built:
The US Supreme Court
1. John Marshall 11
2. “The Hollow” 12
3. George Washington at Monmouth 27
4. Judge George Wythe 35
5. Mary Ambler “Polly” Marshall 40
6. Oak Hill, 1773 47
7. Alexander Hamilton 61
8. Patrick Henry 65
9. Marshall Home in Richmond 73
10. Richmond in 1800 74
11. Thomas Jefferson 84
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viii | List of Illustrations
12. Edmond Genet Presents Credentials 98
13. James Monroe 119
14. President Washington’s Farewell Dinner 124
15. President John Adams 126
16. Talleyrand 129
17. Elbridge Gerry 130
18. Portal of Power 134
19. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney 136
20. Congressional Pugilists 141
21. Napoléon Bonaparte Invades Egypt 151
22. Aaron Burr Jr. 165
23. Secretary of State Timothy Pickering 167
24. Maison Carré in Nîmes (a) and Richmond State Capitol (b) 169
25. Chief Justice John Jay 179
26. John Adams’s Letter to the Senate 181
27. Chief Justice John Marshall 182
28. Philosophic Cock 202
29. John Marshall’s Supreme Court 211
30. Associate Justice Samuel Chase 219
31. Hamilton-Burr Duel 225
32. General James Wilkinson 240
33. General Andrew Jackson 242
34. President James Madison 262
35. New Supreme Court Chamber 266
36. “Republican” Supreme Court 271
37. The US Capitol before the War of 1812 273
38. Burning of the Capitol by the British in 1814 279
39. Agreement at Ghent 280
40. Battle of New Orleans 281
41. Caldwell House 283
42. Inauguration of James Monroe 290
43. Dartmouth College 297
44. Steamboat Traffic on the Hudson River 305
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Acknowledgments
My deepest thanks to forMer deputy us attorney General
Edward C. Schmults and to New York attorney Andrew Bab for review-
ing the manuscript of this book before its publication. Both were most
gracious and generous in sharing their knowledge of history and their un-
derstanding of the Constitution. Attorney A. Reading Van Doren Jr., was
also kind enough to review the manuscript. I am grateful as well to the
staffs at the Supreme Court Historical Society, the John Marshall House,
the Massachusetts Historical Society, and the Library of Congress Prints
and Photographs Division for their help. And although their names do
not appear on the cover, the members of the great publishing and edito-
rial team at Da Capo Press of the Perseus Books group are as responsible
as I am for this book. I am truly grateful for and honored by their help
and support—especially, John Radziewicz, Publisher; Robert Pigeon, Ex-
ecutive Editor; Lissa Warren, Vice President, Director of Publicity; Kevin
Hanover, Vice President, Director of Marketing; Sean Maher, Marketing
Manager; Fred Francis, Managing Editor; Cisca Schreefel, Manager, Ed-
itorial Production; Justin Lovell, Editorial Assistant; Trish Wilkinson,
Designer; and Josephine Mariea, Copy Editor; Robert Swanson, Indexer.
My warmest thanks to you all and to the wonderful sales team of the Per-
seus Books Group.
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