Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1901-01-31
CHIEF JUSTICE MARSHALL.


appointment of John Marshall as the
first chief justice OF the United States,
will be observed throughout the United
States on February 4th. In this state
the members OF the bar will observe
the day with o dinner and speeches.
A recent number Of Case and Comment
contained the following sketch of the
first chief justice:
The most illustrious of all the names
in American jurisprudence is unoues-
tionably that of John Marshall. There
have been other great judges In this
county, but he stands out among them
all conspicuous and colossal. There
have been great judges in other lands,
but even the greatest of them never
did, or had opportunity to do, any
work so extraordinary iE its nature,
and SO vast In It's results, as the Gre
alive work Of Chief Justice Marshall,
by which, through more than "a years
of the infancy of this nation and the
development OF Its unique system of
government, he built the magnificent
and enduring structure OF Its constitu-'
tional Law.
The chief incidents in the biography
Of John Marshall may be briefly sum
married. He was born at Fauquier
county, September Gath, ITS, and was
the oldest of 10 children. His grand
father, who was native of Wales, had
settled In Westmoreland county in
1870, and his eldest son, Thomas, the
father Of John Marshall, removed to
Fauquier county, became tho friend Of
George Washington, was employed by
him as surveyor, and served under
him In the Revolutionary War. Later
ha raunnra1 70 fbn nfoi NO nf
the Blue Ridge. At fourteen John was
Gent for instruction in Latin to a
Clergyman named Campbell, where he
remained one year. After the family
had removed to Oak Hill he STUDIED
Latin another year with Sootchman
named Thompson. and this completed
his classical tuition. He became a
lieutenant In the American army in
1775, and was afterwards captain.
He was at Valley Forge during the
winter of ITS. aud fought at Brandy
wine, Germantown, and Monmouth.
lie was admitted to the bar in 1850,
was chosen representative to the Legis-
| lature In 1882. and was married 10 1888
| to Mary Willis Amber. He resigned
his seat in the Legislature in 1854, but
was reelected in 1857, and was a dele
gate to the constitutional convention
In 1888. He declined a recollection
| to the Legislature in 1892, and returned
to the practice of law, but was re-
elected without his consent In 1895.
He was offered the post of attorney
general and of minister to France, but
declined both. Later he was made one
| Of the three ministers to France, with
General Pinckney and Mr.. Gerry, to
avert hostilities with that country.
He was elected to Congress in 1893.
At the close of his term he was a y
| pointed Secretary of War, and later
Secretary of State He was appointed
chief Justice Of the Supreme Court Of
| the United States on January 81 1901,
at the age of 46, and took his seat on
| February 4th. He continued in that
court until bis death, July g., 1895.
| In 1929 while still a member of the
court, he was member Of the conven-
tion which met to revise the Virginia
| Constitution.
His services to his country as COM
missioner to France were OF the largest
4 Importance. He was welcomed on his
return with distinguished honors,. and
1 then gave himself to the practice of his
profession, desiring to, withdraw from
public life. His country's need of his
services, however, was SO earnestly
impressed upon him by General Wash
| ington that he finally consented to be
| chosen member of Congress. Here,
during that trying period, his reputa-
| tion, character, and Judgment were Of
/ exceptional value to the nation. But,
| while his Legislative, diplumatio and
| executive services were sufficient to
give him high place among the states
men of his time, the climax of his
career was not yet reached. The
| judicial system Of the new government
under the American Constitution was
to have unparalleled Importance, and
it YVES to be his duty and his glory to
guide in its development
As Chief Justice Of the United States
John Marshall's career gave him a
fame that will doubtless remain forever
unequaled. A new dignity and power
beyond that ever before conferred upon
a court had been given to the Supreme
Court of the United States by the
Constitution. The court was made a
real, vital, and IN some sense supreme,
branch OF the government. 1t was the
work of that court and in an especial
sense the work of John Marshall, to
lay the foundations and rear the Frame
work Of a new kind of Jurisprudence
in which the matters OF litigation are
enlarged to include the most profound
questions of craftsmanship, and the
very structure and power OF the govern
ment itself In all branches of law he
was great judge, but in constitutional
/ law his pre-. eminehoe is unquestioned
and enduring. At the time of his APP
pointinent the court had been in ex-
istence but eleven years, and less than
1 100 cases had been decided. During
the log period of his services on the
bench nearly all the fundamental ques-
tions Of our constitutional law were
i decided. On nearly all these questions,
and in nearly all the famous cases, such
as Marbury vs.. Madison, Mccullough
vs.. Maryland, Dartmouth College vs..
Woodward, and Gibbons vs.. Ogden, he
wrote, and doubtless in the main do
termined the opinion Of the court. He
dominated the court, not wilfully, but
by sheer mastery of his extraordinary
mind. His fairness and judicial temper
kept him as judge from becoming in
any case partisan Or an advocate.
The cearness of his analysis and
reasoning made complex matters seem
simple, and that supreme quality OF
mind that enables one to see things In
their just relations, true character and
comparative importance enabled him to
exercise discriminating and sound
judgment, in which his associates
learned to trust. He would have been
honored as a Statesman if he had not
gone upon the bench, but his noblest
title will always be that of the great
chief justice.
1 The manhood of John Marshall was