"The Great Chief Justice"

"The Great Chief Justice". . Born in Fauquier County, John Marshall was admitted to the bar there in 1780 following service in the Revolutionary army. In 1783 he married Mary Willis Ambler and lived the remainder of his life in Richmond where until 1797 he accepted President Adam’s request to help represent his nation in France. Marshall was deeply involved in state political and legal affairs. He served intermittently in the House of Delegates on the Council of State, the Richmond City Council, and after 1793 as brigadier general of the state militia. He played an active role in the Convention of June 1788 that ratified the U.S. Constitution. Revered by his fellow Richmonders, Marshall was active in most civic and social affairs and seldom missed a public gathering. Marshall and a handful of his contemporaries dominated the state bar, he practiced before state courts, the U.S. Circuit Court and the U.S Supreme Court, where he argued the famous case of Ware vs. Hylton in 1796. His advice was frequently sought by other attorneys. After his involvement in the XYZ Affair and his return from France in 1798, he was elected to Congress, but resigned in 1800 to become Secretary of State, a position he held when President Adams appointed him Chief Justice of the Unites States on January 20, 1801., Marshall sat as chief justice until 1835, longer than any other person, and during his tenure he persuaded the justices to begin speaking as one voice. The court emerged as a strong, effective part of national government interpreting the Constitution and granting broad powers to Congress., While serving as chief justice, Marshall remained a Richmonder. He fought for the completion of the James River canal, attended the state constitutional convention in 1829-1830, he was the first president of the Virginia Historical Society, and reared six children in his house on Shockoe Hill. Holding circuit court here in 1807, he presided over the treason trial of Aaron Burr. Marshall died in Philadelphia on July 6, 1835, an as he requested, was brought home for burial. He wrote his own epitaph: its humility is our best legacy of his character., Text adapted from former VCU Bicentennial Committee sign.