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Biography
John Marshall (1755–1835) was raised on the Virginia frontier. He fought in the Revolutionary War, serving as a captain in the Continental Army, and studied law at the College of William and Mary before beginning a lifetime of public service.
Marshall began his diplomatic career in 1797. He was one of three envoys sent to Paris by President John Adams and negotiated trade treaties with the French. His mission was made all the more important by French attacks on neutral U.S. shipping. The mission failed, however, when lower-level French diplomats demanded bribes before negotiations could begin. The XYZ Affair, as it was called, increased tensions between the two countries. Each side attacked the other’s ships in what contemporaries described as a Quasi-War. But for Marshall, who had reported about the scandal, the XYZ Affair turned a diplomatic failure into a personal triumph, as his reputation soared at home. Two years later, Adams appointed him secretary of state. In this position for only a year, he was able to help negotiate a settlement with the French—the Convention of 1800 that ended the undeclared war and established terms for trade. Just before he left office, President Adams appointed Marshall as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, the role for which he is best known. In the next 35 years Marshall led decisions that vastly increased the authority of the judiciary, making it a truly co-equal branch of government with Congress and the presidency. Most notably, in Marbury v. Madison (1803), he established the right of judiciary, making it a truly co-equal branch of government with Congress and the presidency. Most notably, in Marbury v. Madison (1803), he established the right of judicial review, that is, the power to declare a law passed by Congress unconstitutional.