He began his political career by serving one term in the Virginia General Assembly, representing Fauquier County. Later, he served on the Council of State from 1782 to 1784. Immediately thereafter, Marshall returned to the Virginia Assembly. This time, he represented Henrico County, from 1784 to 1787. He also served in June of 1788 as a delegate to the Virginia state convention assembled to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
REVOLUTIONARY REVELATIONS
John Marshall was a talented quoits player, which was one of his favorite pastimes. The game involved throwing a metal ring over an iron stake embedded in the ground. He was a member of the exclusive Buchanan Spring Quoits Club, where political discussions were forbidden—but consuming a punch diluted with brandy, rum, and Madeira wine was encouraged. He was also good at that.
Political opportunities were limited in Fauquier County, so Marshall moved to Richmond, Virginia, in 1785. He plunged into local politics, albeit unsuccessfully at first. He ran for the city council, but placed second. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The runner-up prize was a position as city recorder. That served him in good stead in his legal career.
The city recorder’s duty was to sit as a magistrate on a local court that handled minor civil and criminal cases. The position was a steppingstone for Marshall to higher court positions.
The experience in the Richmond court earned him a reputation that would follow him for the rest of his legal career. He was known as a man who adhered rigidly to three principles: subordinating self-interest to the public good, controlling oneself by reason, and maintaining a sense of duty.
Quotations to Live (and Die) By!
“THE PEOPLE MADE THE CONSTITUTION, AND THE PEOPLE CAN UNMAKE IT. IT IS THE CREATURE OF THEIR OWN WILL, AND LIVES ONLY BY THEIR WILL.”
—JOHN MARSHALL
Working His Way Up
Marshall combined his judicial and political responsibilities throughout the late 1700s. He served in the Virginia Assembly from 1782–91 and 1795–97. His accomplishments as a lawyer and judge over that time caught President George Washington’s attention. Washington offered Marshall two positions: attorney general and minister to France in the mid-1790s. He declined both in favor of something bigger. Marshall’s break came in 1800, when President John Adams named him as secretary of state.
REVOLUTIONARY REVELATIONS
John Marshall wrote a 3,200-page biography of George Washington that took him five years to complete. It sold 7,000 copies.
Marshall served as secretary of state from June 13, 1800, to March 13, 1801. On January 20, 1801, the outgoing president nominated him as chief justice of the Supreme Court. Marshall did not step down for thirty-four years. He was the longest-serving Supreme Court justice in U.S. history.
Chief Justice Marshall
Marshall made a major difference during his lengthy stint as the chief justice. Among his most significant accomplishments: he established the principle of judicial review, ruled that state judiciaries could set aside state legislative acts if they conflicted with the federal Constitution, and said that the U.S. Supreme Court could reverse a decision of a state court. He did note, however, that the powers of government were limited.
The cumulative effect of the three rulings was to increase the power of the Supreme Court as a branch of the federal government, emphasize the role of the judiciary in the states, and reinforce the national supremacy of the federal government.
Quotations to Live (and Die) By!
“IT IS EMPHATICALLY THE PROVINCE AND DUTY OF THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT TO SAY WHAT THE LAW IS…. IF TWO LAWS CONFLICT WITH EACH OTHER, THE COURTS MUST DECIDE ON THE OPERATION OF EACH…. THIS IS OF THE VERY ESSENCE OF JUDICIAL DUTY.”
—JOHN MARSHALL
Amazingly, even though Marshall served on the Supreme Court for thirty-four years, he did not render many significantly controversial rulings. One of the few that stood out, Marbury v. Madison (1803), set a precedent that affects the way the federal government operates today.
Marbury v. Madison involved a refusal by President Jefferson’s secretary of state, James Madison, to deliver William Marbury’s commission as a justice of the peace in Washington, D.C. Marbury asked the court to compel the government to grant his commission. The Supreme Court justices ruled that he was entitled to the commissions. But they said the Judiciary Act of 1789, which had given the court the power to grant it, was inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution. Therefore, they declared, the act was invalid.
The ruling made the Supreme Court the final decision maker regarding the constitutionality of congressional legislation.
In another well-known case, the Supreme Court under Marshall exonerated Aaron Burr of treason, after a June 24, 1807, indictment on charges that he had instigated a war against Spain. The case stemmed from a bizarre incident which then President Thomas Jefferson knew nothing about, even though it could have led the United States into a war.
In 1805 Burr had held secret meetings with Brigadier General James Wilkinson, governor of the Louisiana Territory, commander of the U.S. Army, and a secret agent of the Spanish Crown, regarding the purchase of one million acres of land in the south on which Burr would build his own empire.
Just who owned the land was in question. Spain claimed part of it, and threatened to go to war with the United States over the issue. Another chunk of the land would be taken from Mexico. Wilkinson agreed to supply U.S. troops for the invasion as part of the scheme. The plan unraveled when Wilkinson advised President Jefferson of what was happening. Burr was captured and charged with treason.
The case reached the Supreme Court, which ruled that Burr may have been guilty of something, but it was not treason. The man who had killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel walked free. He never did set up his own empire.
Marshall walked a tightrope in his years as chief justice. He consistently ruled fairly and impartially, and set judicial precedents that the Supreme Court is still following two centuries later.
JAMES MONROE
Westmoreland County, Virginia
April 28, 1758–July 4, 1831
The Birth of NIMBY-ism
James Monroe fought in the Revolutionary War and served as the U.S. ambassador to France and Great Britain, a U.S. senator, secretary of state and war, and fifth U.S. president. He developed the Monroe Doctrine and helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase. There were very few events of significance in which he did not participate in the United States’ first fifty years. Monroe was one of the country’s early political stars and his legacy is still felt today.
It’s Who You Know
James Monroe entered the College of William & Mary at age sixteen, but left shortly thereafter to fight in the Revolutionary War with the Third Virginia Regiment. Actually, his fight against the British began before he left the campus, as he participated in rebellious activities around Williamsburg that surpassed the normal student pranks. James Monroe and a few classmates raided the arsenal at the British governor’s palace in Williamsburg. They captured 200 muskets and 300 swords, which they turned over to the Virginia militia. Not many of the Founding Fathers carried out “pranks” of that magnitude.
The young lieutenant managed to be where the fighting took place early in the war. He fought at Harlem Heights, White Plains, Trenton, Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. He was one of five American casualties at the Battle of Trenton in December 1776. A musket ball struck Monroe in the left shoulder and severed an artery. A New Jersey physician named Dr. John Riker clamped the artery quickly enough to stop the bleeding—and save the future president’s life.
Eventually, he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel owing to General Washington’s influence, but he left the army in 1780 to pursue his law studies.
Monroe had an uncanny knack for befriending illustrious political figures. In addition to drawing George Washington’s attention during the Revolutionary War, he studied law under Thomas Jefferson’s tutelage. Their relationship evolved into a lifetime friendship, which helped
Monroe ascend the political ladder.
Those connections benefited him as his career progressed and he fulfilled his desire to build a stronger United States.
Quotations to Live (and Die) By!
“NEVER DID A GOVERNMENT COMMENCE UNDER AUSPICES SO FAVORABLE, NOR EVER WAS SUCCESS SO COMPLETE. IF WE LOOK TO THE HISTORY OF OTHER NATIONS, ANCIENT OR MODERN, WE FIND NO EXAMPLE OF A GROWTH SO RAPID, SO GIGANTIC, OF A PEOPLE SO PROSPEROUS AND HAPPY.”
—JAMES MONROE
A Meteoric Rise
Monroe got into politics soon after he finished law school. He was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1782 and was appointed to Governor’s Council. Monroe also served in the Congress of the Confederation from 1783–86.
Monroe made a name for himself in Congress by insisting on the United States’ right to navigate the Mississippi River and attempting to enforce Congress’s power to regulate commerce. He did not have much success in either endeavor, so he resigned and set up his own law practice in Fredericksburg, Virginia. His retirement from politics did not last long, as his fellow Virginians demanded his services, in and out of the state.
FEDERAL FACTS
The Confederation Congress (a.k.a. the United States in Congress Assembled) was one of the names for the U.S. Congress that convened from March 1, 1781, to March 4, 1789.
Quotations to Live (and Die) By!
“OUR COUNTRY MAY BE LIKENED TO A NEW HOUSE. WE LACK MANY THINGS, BUT WE POSSESS THE MOST PRECIOUS OF ALL—LIBERTY!”
—JAMES MONROE
Monroe was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1787. A year later he became a member of the Virginia convention that ratified the federal constitution. Then, he was appointed in 1790 to fill the Senate vacancy caused by the death of William Grayson. To add to his accomplishments, he received a nomination from President Washington on May 27, 1794, as ambassador to France. It may be that Washington simply wanted to get Monroe out of the country—during his term as senator, Monroe consistently opposed Washington’s government.
President Monroe
Monroe returned to Virginia to serve as governor from 1799–1802. President Jefferson enlisted his aid in 1803 to help negotiate the Louisiana Purchase. Subsequently, Jefferson nominated him to the post of ambassador to England.
Monroe’s tenure in England was a trying time for the young United States. The two countries were arguing over the British navy’s policy of impressing (i.e., forcing to serve) American seamen to act as crewmen on its ships. Monroe tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a treaty to stop the practice.
Jefferson recalled Monroe in 1807. It was one of the few failures in Monroe’s political career.
Revolutionary Revelations
James Monroe was the only person to serve as both secretary of war and secretary of state at the same time. He held both positions during the War of 1812.
Finally, in 1816, he was elected to the first of his two terms as U.S. president.
Several major events took place on Monroe’s watch. Among the most significant were the 1817–18 war with the Seminole Indians, the acquisition of Florida from Spain, and the Missouri Compromise.
The Missouri Compromise addressed the constitutional conflict over the existence of slavery in the United States. According to the terms, after 1820, states above the southern Missouri border would be slavefree. Those below could be slave states. In reality, the compromise just highlighted the sectional divisions in the country that future generations were left to resolve.
The Monroe Doctrine
The best known legacy of Monroe’s presidency is the Monroe Doctrine. It is still invoked today—even though the man it’s named after has been dead for almost 200 years.
The Monroe Doctrine announced on December 2, 1823, was clear and concise. It warned European powers planning on interfering in the United States’ sphere of influence in the Western Hemisphere to think twice before acting, lest they bear the full brunt of its political and military power—not that the United States possessed much of either at the time. Monroe’s “doctrine,” as it came to be known years later, was a radical departure for a government that had attained its own independence only forty-seven years earlier. It marked the first time that the United States flexed its muscles regarding the Western Hemisphere, and signaled that the former British colonies had “grown up.” In effect, he was acknowledging that the political system in the Western Hemisphere was more like the United States’ than Europe’s. The imposition of the doctrine capped Monroe’s significant political career—and was a major milestone for the Founding Fathers.
Quotations to Live (and Die) By!
“THE BEST FORM OF GOVERNMENT IS THAT WHICH IS MOST LIKELY TO PREVENT THE GREATEST SUM OF EVIL.”
—JAMES MONROE
While Monroe was visiting his daughter Maria in New York City in 1831, he died—on Independence Day.
Revolutionary Revelations
James Monroe had been as generous with his money as he was with his time on behalf of the United States. He was reduced in the 1820s to asking the government for reimbursement for his expenses. In 1826, Congress approved a payment to him of $30,000. Magnanimously, it authorized another token amount after his death to purchase his papers from his heirs.
James Monroe may have left this earth financially dependent, but his service to the nation was priceless.
GOUVERNEUR MORRIS
New York, New York
January 31, 1752–November 6, 1816
Hard to Take at Times
Gouverneur Morris, one of the principal writers of the United States Constitution, entered the limelight in the early 1770s. Over the course of his adult years, he fought with his family over the issue of allegiance to independence, served in the army in the Revolutionary War, left the country for ten years, came back, and picked up where he left off. The man with the oddly spelled name was a boon to the United States throughout its growing-up years.
Family Feud
Not many people were gifted enough to enter King’s College at age twelve. Gouverneur Morris was one of the few. He began his studies in 1764 and graduated from the college four years later. Too young to start a career at age sixteen, he went on to earn a master’s degree in 1771, and followed that with three years of study with the noted New York law scholar William Smith.
Smith, a fervid opponent of British tax policies, introduced Morris to leading New York patriots such as John Jay and Alexander Hamilton. They helped Morris begin his political career.
Once Morris passed the bar exam, he entered the political arena. In 1775, he was elected to the independence-minded, similarly named—and extralegal—New York Provincial Congress, which patriots organized as an alternative to the colony’s “official” pro-British legislative body, the Province of New York Assembly. The New York Provincial Congress immediately declared itself the official government on May 22, 1775.
Morris’s commitment to independence extracted a dear price: a schism with his family and friends. One of his pet peeves during the Revolutionary War era was Tories, a faction that included his mother, half-brother, and even his mentor William Smith, who became a Tory because he did not favor the New Yorkers’ move toward independence.
Early in the war Morris advocated reasoning with colonists who stayed loyal to the king. Later, he supported harsher methods, such as tarring and feathering, whippings, and confiscation of property.
Morris’s half-brother, Staats Long Morris (1728–1800), fought in the British army, and became a major general. After the Constitutional Convention of 1787 ended, Gouverneur bought the family estate in New York City from him and moved in.
Morris was unperturbed by the family rift at first. The loss of family ties did not deter him from seeking independence for the colonies.
Politics and War: Whatever It Takes
Morris served in the New York Provincial Congress for two years and the Continental Congress for another two (1777–79).
In 1778, patriots formed a committee to
meet with British Prime Minister Lord North’s conciliation commissioners. Morris chaired the committee and presented a report adopted by a unanimous vote of Congress that declared that the recognition of independence must precede any negotiations for peace.
He also served in the army for a while, even though he was exempt because of his status as a congressional delegate. And he maintained his separation from his family, although he and his mother later reconciled.
Morris moved to Philadelphia in 1780 and resumed his law career. There he published a series of papers on finance and served as the assistant to superintendent of finance Robert Morris (no relation). He prepared an illuminating report in 1782 that discussed coinage and its inclusion in the American currency system. He suggested that the nation base its currency on the decimal system. But it was not until after the war ended that Gouverneur Morris demonstrated his true value to the United States.
REVOLUTIONARY REVELATIONS
Gouverneur Morris invented the word “cent.”
Some Bizarre Ideas
The state of Pennsylvania elected Morris to represent it at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. That was a surprise to Morris. He had a reputation for bluntness and cynicism that he suspected would not be tolerated at the convention. He attended nonetheless—and became one of the lead authors of the U.S. Constitution.
Not Your Father's Founders Page 14
