John Marshall
Today in History: John Marshall Becomes Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
Today in 1801, John Marshall was appointed the Chief Justice of the United States by President John Adams. Nominated at a time of severe partisan discord, Adams hoped Marshall’s appointment would help to counteract the influence of the Jeffersonian Republicans and...
John Marshall, the Commerce Clause and Gibbons v Ogden
While supporters – and opponents – of the monster state often point to 3 New Deal era cases as pivotal for expansion of federal power under the Commerce Clause, it’s important to go even further back, to 1824, and John Marshall’s landmark opinion in...
The Marbury v Madison Myth
Almost everything in modern “constitutional law” is based on a myth. “A long, long time ago — 1803, if the storyteller is trying to be precise — in the famous case of Marbury v. Madison the Supreme Court of the United States created the doctrine of...Chief Justice John Marshall: Not the Big Government Guy You Might Think
Chief Justice John Marshall (in office 1801-1835) is often identified with an expansive “big government” interpretation of the Constitution. Fans of big government cite him as an ally; opponents as an enemy. This view of Marshall is a caricature. It is true that...