The Life of John Marshall (Volume 2 of 4)

y connected, his head small, his complexion swarthy, his counte

e regarded as a learned l

est organized of any I h

a roundabout or short linen jacket. Plainly, he had paid little attention to his attire. He was bareheaded and his unkempt hair was tied behind in a queue. He carried his hat under his arm, and it was full of cherries which the owner was eating as he sa

was the best lawyer in Richmond, asked he of his host? "The man who just passed us, John Marshall by name," said the tavern-keeper. But the countryman would have none of Marshall. His appearance did not fill the old man's idea of a practitioner before the courts.

wdered wig, entered the room. At once the planter retained him. The client remained in the court-room, it appears, to listen to the lawyers in th

told him the circumstances, and apologized. Explaining that he had but five dollars left, the troubled old farmer asked Marshall whether he woul

s great career. John Marshall, after he had become the leading lawyer of Virginia, and, indeed, throughout his life, was the simple, unaffected man whom the tale describes. Perhaps consciousness of his own strength contributed to his disregard of person

gre, emaciated; his muscles relaxed and his joints so loosely connected, as not only to disqualify him, apparentl

sture; sitting, standing, or walking; he is as far removed from the i

s face being relaxed; ... his countenance has a faithful expression of great good humour and hilarity; while his black eyes-t

him to stand with his left foot in advance, while all his gesture proceeded from his right arm, and consisted merely in a vehe

ough intermittently. However, during the critical three weeks of plot and plan, debate and oratory in the famous month of June, 1788, he managed to do some "law business": while Virginia's Constitutional Convention was in session, he received twenty fees,

s "Card table 5.10 Cards 8/ paper 2/-6" and "expenses and loss at billiards at dift times 3" (pounds). In September, 1788, occurs the first entry for professional literature, "Law books

ings and outlay, "Recd? in the year 1788 1169.05; and expended in year 1788, 515-13-7" which lef

w shillings more than 1427 pounds and had about $2400 Virginia currency remaining, after paying all expenses. In 1791 he did not do so well, yet he cleared over $2

oes not register beyond the end of 1795,[463] and there is no further evidence than the general understanding current in Richmond as to the amount of his earnings after this date. La Rochefoucauld reported in 1797 that "Mr. Marshall does not, from his practice, derive

gave the "lawyer dinners" which, later, became so celebrated. This structure was one of a number of the important houses of Richmond.[466] Near by were the residences of Colonel Edward Carrington, Daniel Call, an excellent lawyer, and George Fisher, a wealthy merchant; these men had married the three sisters of Marshall's wife. The house of Jacquelin Ambler was also one of this cluster of dwelli

eople abiding in small wooden houses, in 1783, the Capital became, in 1795, a vigorous town of six thousand inhabitants, dwelling mostly in attractive brick residences.[468] This architectural transformation was occasioned by a fire which, in 1787, destroyed most of the buildings in Ric

ALL'S HOUS

THE FAMOUS "LAWYERS

tract of land in Buckingham County, which was heavily encumbered by a deed of trust to secure "a debt of a former owner" of the land to Caron de Beaumarchais.[470] Marshall k

se. Perhaps the fact that he was the attorney of the Frenchman in important litigation quieted apprehension. Beaumarchais having died, his agent, unable to collect the debt, was about to sell the land un

ss. For instance, the subscribers to a fire insurance company appointed him on the committee to examine the proposed plan of business and to petition the Legislature for a charter,[472] which was granted under the name of the "Mutual Assurance Society of Virginia."[473

ts of his life, when greatly distressed by combined business and political complications,[477] he notes a love affair of his sist

es were encouraged by her. I am not by any means certain of the fact nor did I suspect it until we had separ

ents and integrity for whom I profess and feel a real friendship. There is no person with whom I should be better pleased if there were not other considerations which ought not to be overlook'd. Mr. Taylor possesses but little if an

ations. I regret that it was concealed from me. I have a sincere and real affection and esteem for Major Taylor but I think it right in

in 1785.[480] The following year Marshall was appointed Deputy Grand Master. In 1792 he presided over the Grand Lodge as Grand Master pro tempore; and the next year he was chosen as the head of the order in Virginia. He was re?lected as Grand Master in 1794; and presided over the meetings of the Grand Lodge held during 1793 until 1795 inclusive. During the latter year

d Master, John Marshall, to the duties of Masonry, and that they entertain an high sense of the wisdom displayed by him in the discharge of the duties of his off

me, in practically every important cause heard and determined by the supreme tribunal of the State. Whenever there was more than one attorney for the client who retained Marshall, the latter almost invariably was reserved to make the closing

slightly equipped with legal learning[484] and he informed himself from the knowledge displayed by his adversaries. Even after he had become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

praise which has been lavished upon him," writes Francis Walker Gilmer, in his keen and brilliant contemporary analysis of Marshall. "His mind is not very richly stored with knowledge," he continues, "but it is so creative, so well

shall's scanty acquirements. "Mr. Marshall," says Schmidt, "can hardly be regarded as a learned lawyer.... His acquaintance with the Roman jurisprudence as

hall's want of those legal weapons

h of the law student were almost unknown & when you often sought in vain in the Reporters which usually wore the imposing form of folios, eve

ements of its very valuable materials; when the rules of pleading had to be looked for in Chief Justice Saunders's Reports, while the doctrinal parts of the jurisprudence, based almost exclusively on the precedents had to be sought after in the

ill ignored them. Even in these early years other counsel exhibited the results of much research; but not so Marshall. In most of his arguments, as reported in volumes one, two, and four of Call's Virginia Reports and in volumes one and two of Washington's Virginia Reports,[487] he depended

igation at that time. He lost almost as frequently as he won. Out of one hundred and twenty-one cases reported, Marshall was on the winning side sixty-two times and on

onest with the court, and on one occasion went so far as to say that the opposing counsel was in the right and himself in the wrong.[490] "My own opinion," he admitted to the court in

itigation in which he was employed was intricate and involved; and in this class of cases his lucid and orderly mind made him the intellectual master of the contending lawyers. Marshall's abi

y brief and confined strictly to the particular cases which he had been retained by his associate attorney

any objection to his bank. To that I should like very well to have free access & wou'd certainly discount from it as largely as he wou'd permit, but I am alr

exeat which is to confine you entirely to your side of the mountain, I shall be selfish enough to regret your good fortune & almost wish

o take a journey to Philadelphia together this winter and

ectly unsettled question. If in that respect the law here varies from the law of England it must be because such is the will of th

nd difficult to secure, two negatives being sufficient to reject a candidate. Meetings were held each Saturday, in pleasant weather, at "the springs" on the farm of Mr. Buchanan, the Episcopal clergyman.

inister joked about the danger of those who "drank from tumblers on the table becoming tumblers under the table." Marshall challenged "Parson" Blair to a game of quoits, each selecting four partners. His quoits were big, rough, heavy iron affairs that nobody else could throw, those of the other players being smaller and of pol

"by riding on my back," asked Marshall. "I fear that from my many backslidings and deficiencies, he may be badly disappointed." Blair's method was like playing leap frog, said he. And did anybody play backgammon in that way? Also there was the ancient legal maxim, "Cujus est solum, ejus est usque ad c?lum": being "the first occupant his right ext

lair, by "riding on that pinnacle," will be apt to arrive in time at the upper round of the ladder of fame. The legal maxim cited by Marshall was really against his claim, since the ground belonged to Mr. Buchanan and Marshall was as much of a "squatter" as Blair was. "The first squatter was no better than the second." And why did Marshall talk of ejecting him by force of arms? Everybody knew that "parsons are men of peace and do not vanquish their antagonists vi et armis. We do not deserve t

vote as even as possible and finally determined that the dispu

e Barbecue Club, and other similar amusements which served to take his mind from the grave problems on which, at other times, it was constantly working, were continued, as we shall see, a

ts. When Congress enacted the Judiciary Law of 1789 and the National Courts were established, British creditors at once began action to recover their long overdue debts.

de debts heretofore contracted." The Constitution provided that "All treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstand

whole country when finally it reached the Supreme Court. The question in that celebrated controversy was whether a State law, suspending the collection of a d

bts under the confiscation laws were vitally interested. Marshall, in this case, made the notable argument that carried his reputation as a la

ven. More remarkable still, his efforts for his clients were opposed to his own interests; for, had he succeeded for those who employed him, he would have wrecked the only considerable business transaction in which h

Supreme Court, and Judge Griffin of the United States District Court. The attorneys for the British creditors were William Ronald, John Baker, John Stark, and John Wickham. For the defendants were Alexander Campbell, James Innes, Patrick Henry, and John Marshall. Thu

exerted every ounce of their strength. When Patrick Henry had finished his appeal, Justice Iredell was so overcome that he cried, "Gracious God! He is an orator indeed!"[499] The Countess o

ong as I live, remember with pleasure and respect the arguments which I have heard on this case: they have discovered an ingenuity, a depth of investigation, and a power of rea

of their distinguished counsel, with the single exception of Alexander Campbell; for when, on appeal to the Supreme Court o

quate as the report is, it still reveals the peculiar clearness and the compact and simple reasoning which made up the

aw, was an independent nation." A State engaged in war has the powers of war, "and confiscation is one of those powers, weakening the party against whom it is employed and strengthening the party that employs it." Nations have equal powers; and, fr

f civil institutions." Even if "an individual has not the power of extinguishing his debts," still "the community to which he belongs ... may ... upon principles of public policy, prevent his creditors from recovering them." The ownership and control of property "is the of

ff." Did the treaty revive the debt thus extinguished? No: For the treaty provides "that creditors on either side shall meet with no lawful impediment to the recovery" of their

ration laws. There were cases of such debts and it was to these only that the treaty applied. The Virginia law must have been known to the commission

l's argument, as inaccurately

al were watching Marshall narrowly and these particularly were captivated by his argument. "His head is one of the best organized of any one that I have known," writes the keenly observant King, a year later, in giving to Pinckney his estima

4] Twenty-four years afterwards William Wirt, then at the summit of his brilliant career, advising Francis Gilmer upon the art of oratory, recalled Marshall

purpose of convincing. Marshall was justly pronounced one of the greatest men of the country; he was followed by crowds, looked upon, and court

eminent success, I say, if I had my life to go over again, I would practice on his maxi

ts from too much adornment which detracted from the real solidity and careful learning of his efforts at the bar. And when, finally, in his old ag

Sacrifice your flowers.... Avoid as you would the gates of death, the reputat

hungry zeal of ambitious youth. Thus it is that to Francis Gilmer we owe what is perhaps th

undivided, clean and entire. In this process, such is the instinctive neatness and precision of his mind that no supe

e labour of thinking. So great a mind, perhaps, like large bodies in the physical world, is with difficulty set in motion. That th

s broken, his eye more fixed, until finally, his voice is full, clear, and rapid, his manner bold, and his whole face lighted up, with the

s and flounces on the earth for a while before it

y in the order of his reasoning. His arguments are remarkable for their separate and indep

ed to him, of mastering the most complicated subjects with facility, and whe

all and Randolp

speeches, all is reasoning; in Mr. Randolph's everything is declamation. The former scar

unciation; the other adapts his phrases to the sense with poe

ttle connection between Mr. Randolph's. Each has his separate e

le and manner of argument is that of William Wirt, himse

d, and detecting at once, the very point on which every controversy depends. No matter what the question; though ten times more

on. I am persuaded that his eye does not fly over a landscape and take in its various objects w

wn and comprehend the whole ground at once, he determined immediately and without diff

spacious, that the hearer, seeing no consequence which could be drawn from them, was just as willing to admit them as not; but his premises

a bar was noted by foreign observers. La Rochefoucauld

public opinion at Richmond. He is what is termed a federalist, and perhaps somewhat warm in support of his opinions, but n

nts but accuse him of ambition. I know not whether the charge be well or ill grounded, or whether that ambition might ever be

derived from his professional labours (which is more than sufficient for his moderate system of

but even if this reproach were well founded, he nevertheless displays gre

Monroe to practice law in Richmond because "the business is very profitable;[510] ...

him in his profession. It also focused upon him the keen scrutiny of the politicians and statesmen who at that time were in attendance

vs. Hylton, Marshall was doing his utmost as a lawyer before the Supreme Court to defeat the collection of the British debts, yet his c

ainted," he relates, "with Mr. Cabot, Mr. Ames, Mr. Dexter, and Mr. Sedgwick of Massachusetts, Mr. Wadsworth of Connecticut, and Mr. King of New York. I was delighted with these gentlemen. The particular subject (the British Treaty) which introduced me to their notice was at that time so interesting, and a Virginian who supported, with any sort of

action when, for Marshall, the skies were still clear of financial clouds, he appears to have made a small purchase of bank stock and ventured modestly

y if you please draw upon me for $7000 giving me as much time in the sight as you can, and I will most certainly pay your drafts as they become due. The Brokers shall fix the price of the Stock at the market p

s of stock, apparently to enable him to return shares t

them, this I thought better than remitting the money lest some difficulty should arise about price of shares. Two other shares in the name of Mr Geo Pickett is also enclosed herewith and I will go on

trouble between the two countries. Their satisfactory adjustment would mean, not only the final settlement of this serious controversy, but the removal of an ever-present cause of war.[516] But since Marshall had refused appointment to thr

reat Britain, for deciding on the claims of creditors. I have been long acquainted with his private affairs, and I think

irdly, his being employed as counsel, in suits of that kind, furnishes no reasonable objection; nor do I know of any o

s of his wife at Richmond; in a practice of his profession that annually produces about five thousand dollars on an average; with a young and in

e. It was this, and not, as some suppose, the condition of his invalid wife, to which Marshall vaguely r

failed to secure large tracts of real estate, which could be had at absurdly low prices, and to hold the lands for the natural advance which increasing population would bri

upon some such journey that James M. Marshall, the brother of John Marshall, met and became engaged to Hester Morris, daughter of the great speculator, whom he married on

a.[522] At any rate, sometime during 1793 or 1794 John Marshall, his brother, James M. Marshall, his brother-in-law, Rawleigh Colston, and General Henry Lee contracted for the purchase of this valuable holding.[523] In January of that year James M. Marsha

ent."[526] By the end of 1796 Morris's over-speculations had gravely impaired his fortune. The old financier writes pathetically to James M. Marshall: "I am struggling hard, very hard, indeed to regain my Position." He tells his son-i

or Mr. Fairfax." Morris is trying, he says, to raise money from other sources lest that should fail. "I am here distressed exceedingly in money matters," continues the harried and aging speculator "as indeed every body

This," says the now desperate financier, "is extremely difficult, for those who have money or credit in Europe seem to dread every thing that is American." He assures John Marshall that he will do his utmost. "My

and uncertainty in the public mind and especially in the minds of those holding lands within the grant. The only real and threatening clouds upon the title to the lands purchased by the Marshall syndicate, however, were the confiscat

He was sadly disappointed at his failure and so wrote his brother. "Your Brother has been here," writes Morris to his son-in-law, "as you will see by a letter from him forwarded by this conveyance. He coul

l stated that the issue before the Court was "whether ... the defendant in error being an alien can take and hold the lands by devise. And it will be contended that his title is completely protected by the treaty of peace." Mr. Justice Chase remarked: "I recollect that ... a decision in favor of such a devisee's title was given by a court in Maryland. It is a matter, however, of great moment and ought to be deliberately and finally settled."[534] Th

nced, perhaps, by the controversy over the sequestration laws which the Marshall purchase renewed, the Legislature in 1796 passed a resolution proposing to compromise the dispute by the State's relinquishing "all claim to any lands specifically appropriate

settlement upon the condition that "an act passes during this session confirming ... the title of those claiming under Mr. Fairf

part of your claim yet it was probably better to do that than to hold a contest with such an opponent [State of Virginia]. I will give notice to Mr? Jas? Marshall of this compromi

elieve is to see how you are provided with Money to pay Lord Fairfax.... I am so sensible of the necessity there is for your be

partner in the Fairfax transaction that he is doing his utmost to "raise the money to enable Mr. James Marshall to meet the Payments for your Purchase at least so far as it is incumbent on me to sup

UNT WITH ROBERT MORRIS SHOWIN

csi

plied. In his book of accounts with Morris, James M. Marshall enters: "Jany 25 '97 To ￡7700 paid the Revd? Denny Fairfax and credited in your [Morris's] account with me 7700" (English pounds sterling).[542] The total amount which the Marshalls h

l see, received in the sorely needed cash, over and above his expenses, three times the amount of his annual earnings at the bar.[544] "Mr. John Marshall has said here," relates Jefferson after Marshall's return, "that had he not been appointed minister [envoy] to France, h

France[547] when it was offered to him by Adams, who "by a

TNO

Messenger, 1836, ii, 181

stomary in Virginia at the time. (See La Rochefoucauld, iii, 76.) This tale, fairly well authenticated, is so characteristic of Marshall that it is imp

, in Dillon

The British

les états-Unis, published in t

d not read French at this t

d expenditures all items are from his Account B

child, Mary, was born

chefoucauld

co County, Virginia,

this house to the Association for the Preservation of

, 63-70; and i

ii, 63. Negroes made up o

64; also Ch

urer is soon to appear again at a dramatic moment

S., Boston Public Library. Marshall, then Chief Justice, personally drew this bill. After the Fairfax transaction,

am F. Ast and others; M

Christ

is still doing bu

Christ

illed the public with investing enthusiasm

e infra,

or George Keith Taylor within a few months. He was a man of unusual ability and high character and became very successful in his profession. In 1801 he was appointed by Pre

hich he gives extensive advice on the subject of love and marriage. (Washi

l to Everett,

Christ

Manchester Advertis

ent York Masons of the State of Virginia, from 177

e infra,

. i, chap. v,

Gilmer

t, in Louisiana Law J

d reported in Call and Washington, with title o

when he could do without them, is the curious and interesting case of Coleman vs. Dick and Pat, decided in 1793, and reported in 1 Washington,

aferro, Adm'r, 1 Washingto

urn, 1 Washington, 1

1]

bald Stuart, March 27,

., May 2

unford,

vol. iii o

n of the United S

article iii

ax deal; see in

enry, i

Howe,

reversed him in Philadelphia, the following year, Justice Iredell, pursuant to a practice then existing, and on the advice of his brother justices, placed his orig

he British Debts case before the S

efers to the British Debts case, the only one in which Marshall

e infra,

forgotten the case in which it was made. He says that it was the Carriage Tax case and that Hamilton was

a. His health became too frail for the hard work of the law; and his early death was univers

Gilmer

The British

in any event, since his estimate of Marshall is borne out by every contemporary observer; but it is wort

awyers usually take care to insist on payment before they proceed in a suit; and this custom is ju

Ford, viii, 365. Marshall was in France at the

, 10, 11, and 12. The fight against the bill to carry out the Jay Treaty

er Book; MS., Lib. Cong. The stock referred to in this corre

ne 16, 1796; Morris's Privat

o Marshall, Au

It is one of the curious turns of history that Marshall, as Secretary of State, made the proposition t

the commission. Marshall was a

, March 20, 1796; Cor.

s of Philadelphia i. 414.) Chastellux estimates Morris's wealth at the close of the Revolution at 8,0

smaller items of his purchases was 199,480 acres in Burke County, North Carolina. (Robert

y Nicholas.... I do not consider one shilling sterling as one fourth the real value of the lands.... If, therefore," writes Morris to James M. Marshall, "a little o

Morris's purchase ... of one million, three hundred thousand acres of land of the State of Massachusetts, at five pence per acre. It is said

, a wealthy man. Washington, who had a keen eye for land values, became the owner of immense quan

the time of her marriage to John Marshall's bro

by, i, foot

ll; Records at Large, Fauquier County (Virginia) Circuit Court, 200 et seq. At the time of the contract of purchase, however, the Fairfax estate was sup

e of the Marshall syndicate, but his name does not appear in the Morris corresp

ing to Pinckney, then American Minister to Great Britain. This letter is incorrectly indexed in the Archives as from John Marshall. It is s

21, 1795; and Aug. 24, 1796; Morris'

o Colston, Nov

the newly laid out "Federal City" than all other purchasers put together. Seven thousand two hundred and thirty-four lots stood in his name when the site of Washington was still a primeval forest. (Oberholtzer, 308-12.) Some of these he afterwards transferred to the

nts who made the corrupt proposals to Marshall, Pinckney, and Gerry, the American Commissio

hall, Dec. 30, 1796; Morris's Pr

Jan. 23, 1797; Morris's Priva

iv, 66 et seq.; xi, chap. xliv, 75-76; xi, chap. xlv, 176 et

hese treaties was not

ll, March 4, 1796; Morris's Pri

fax, Devisee, 3 Dalla

by Germans, many of their signatures being in German script. They set forth their

ginia, Revised Co

9), i, 352. Marshall's letter accepting t

November

ve considered the resolution of the General Assembly on the petitions of sundry inhabitants of the coun

e Northern Neck shall be executed, provided an act passes during this session, confirming, on the execution of such deeds, the title of those cla

with much res

bedient

Mar

e Speaker of the H

of Vir

Dec. 30, 1796; Morris's Priva

rris adds that "I mortgaged to Colo? Hamilton 100,000 acres of Genesee Lands to secure payment of

o Colston, Feb

mes M. Marshall, A

Amsterdam and Morris learned of

er County, Virginia, 200 et seq. The deed was not filed until 1806,

few years later, to undertake the heavy task of writing the Life of Washington, quite as

rch 21, 1800; Wo

s "Anas" is, his information in th

or the District of Ohio. In his letter of resignation Thomas Marshall gives a résumé of his experiences as an official under Washington's Administrations. Since this is on

i

I have thought it right to give this timely notice to you as President of the United States, in whom the nomination and appointment of my successor is vested; in order

sign it, when I am no longer insulted, and abused, for endeavoring to execute the Laws of my Country-when those Laws appear to be, m

ged in the business of revenue I presently found myself of sufficient importance with the enemies of the Government here to

therefore cheerfully resign a situation, which I at first accepted and afterwards held, more from an attachment to the Government

ned, with respect and veneration for his public character, the

r; for which in all its public relations permit me to say, I feel the most entire respect and esteem: Nor is it to me among the smallest motives for my rejoicing that you are the President; and of my attachment to you

of my attachment to Republican Government, to the peace, liberty and happiness of my country and that it

call) yet my voice shall ever be excited in opposition to foreign influence, (from whence the greatest danger seems to threaten, as well as against internal foes) and in support of

r with

q. entire resp

the Your very

ates. T.

dams, April 28, 1797;

nfra, chaps