CHAPTER XIX

MARSHALL'S GREAT DECISIONS: CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITATIONS ON THE STATES

I. Note on the life of John Marshall.

John Marshall, the son of Thomas and Mary Marshall, was born on September 24, 1755, in the southern part of what is now Fauquier County, Virginia, in a tiny log house. Thomas Marshall was "a man of the soil and the forests." Marshall said of his father: "My father, Thomas Marshall, was the eldest son of John Marshall, who intermarried with a Miss Markham, and whose parents migrated from Wales, and settled in the county of Westmoreland, Virginia, where my father was born." His mother, who was Mary Randolph Keith before her marriage, was well born and well educated. "My mother," wrote Marshall, "was named Mary Keith. She was the daughter of a clergyman, of the name of Keith, who migrated from Scotland and intermarried with a Miss Randolph, of James River."

John Marshall's early education was such as the frontier community in which he lived could afford. There were no schools within reasonable distance, so he was content with such teaching as his parents could give. The meagre fireside library was devoured by the eager youth. This was supplemented by the Lord Fairfax library. Later, he enjoyed the instruction of a young minister, James Thompson. When an American edition of Blackstone's commentaries was published, Marshall's father was one of the first subscribers. Thomas Marshall intended that his son should

be a lawyer. He sent John to the "academy" of the Reverend Archibald Campbell, a sound, classical scholar, for a brief period.

Marshall had received careful military instruction from his father. When the Revolution broke out, he drilled the youths of his community, and later became a lieutenant in the line, and in 1776 was promoted to Captain-Lieutenant. He served with distinction in the following engagements: The Brandywine campaign, Germantown, Valley Forge, Monmouth, Stony Point, and Pawles Hook. At Valley Forge, he was appointed deputy judge advocate in the Army of the United States. In this capacity he gained invaluable judicial experience.

In 1780, Marshall attended the law lectures of Professor George Wythe at William and Mary, for the short period of six weeks. He took an indifferent interest in the college debating society, and was elected a member of Phi Beta Kappa. His first academic interest was the law lectures, but his mind was constantly distracted from his first business by thoughts of his sweetheart, whose name he wrote in different places among his law notes. Bent on marriage, he left college, procured a license to practice law, signed by Thomas Jefferson, then Governor, and began his legal career. "In January, 1783," wrote Marshall, "I intermarried with Mary Willis Ambler, the second daughter of Mr. Jacquelin Ambler, then Treasurer of Virginia, who was the third son of Mr. Richard Ambler, a gentleman who had migrated from England, and settled at Yorktown, in Virginia."

Marshall's career at the bar and in the public service is fairly well known. He became an acknowledged leader of the Virginia bar, and served in the Virginia legislature and Council of State. As a member of the Virginia Convention on Ratification, he engaged Patrick Henry in debate,

and aided in the ratification of the instrument which he, more than any other man, was destined to interpret and apply.

With the Constitution ratified, Marshall became the leader of the Virginia Federalists, and the defender of George Washington and his administration. He enjoyed by this time a lucrative practice. In 1797, he was appointed minister to France with C. C. Pinckney and Francis Dana. The outcome of this mission, commonly called the "X, Y, Z affair," did not distinguish Marshall as a negotiator, although he and Pinckney followed the only honorable course. He was elected a member of Congress in 1798, and entered upon his duties December 2, 1799. In Congress, he was a strong defender of John Adams and the Federalists. He was appointed Secretary of State, and served in this capacity for a brief period only. On January 20, 1801, he was nominated Chief Justice of the United States by President Adams, and was confirmed by the Senate on January 27. The seal of the United States was affixed to his commission by Samuel Dexter, Secretary of War, as executing the office of Secretary of State pro hac vice. Marshall continued to serve as Secretary of State until the end of Adams' administration. On March 4, 1801, as Chief Justice of the United States, he administered the oath of office to his distinguished protagonist, Thomas Jefferson. What thoughts passed through their minds as they faced each other on this solemn and significant occasion, is known only to the Supreme Being. Certain approximate deductions might reasonably be drawn.

Probably the most brilliant contribution to American legal literature in a generation is the four volumes on "The Life of John Marshall," by the Honorable Albert J. Beveridge. It should be read by every American citizen, not only for the light it sheds on the Constitution and the

life of its greatest expounder, but also for an eloquent illustration of the rise of an American youth from comparative poverty to a position of high authority under a system of government which this master-builder so magnificently helped to mould.

II. Fletcher v. Peck (6 Cranch, 87).

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This case involved the meaning of the contract clause: "No state shall any law impairing the obligation of contracts." This clause was inserted toward the end of the Convention. On August 28, 1787, King proposed a prohibition on the states interfering with private contracts. In the opinion of Madison, a general prohibition, rather than a specific one, should be laid on the states. Rutledge, of South Carolina, suggested a provision prohibiting retrospective laws. The Constitution was sent to the Committee of Style, without a provision on this point. When it was returned, it contained a prohibition on state legislatures to impair or alter contracts. The wording was slightly changed to its present form. One of the most important clauses was adopted in this manner with little debate.

Facts. In 1795, a land company secured from the Georgia legislature 45,000,000 acres of land for a consideration of $500,000. The contract for the purchase was in the form of a bill passed by the state legislature. It was claimed that the sale was effected through bribery, and the law was repealed by the state legislature. Peck, claiming title under the original grant, brought suit in the federal courts to uphold the contract of the state legislature.

Arguments. Counsel for the plaintiff made the following points: