A soul-stirring biography of John Marshall, the young Republic's great chief justice who led the Supreme Court to power and brought law and order to the nation
In the political turmoil that convulsed America after George Washington's death, the surviving Founding Fathers went mad—literally pummeling each other in Congress and challenging one another to deadly duels in their quest for power. Out of the political intrigue, one man emerged to restore calm and dignity to the government: John Marshall. The longest-serving chief justice in American history, Marshall transformed the Supreme Court from an irrelevant appeals court into the powerful and controversial branch of government that Americans today either revere or despise.
Drawing on rare documents, Harlow Giles Unger shows how, with nine key decisions, Marshall rewrote the Constitution, reshaped government, and prevented Thomas Jefferson from turning tyrant. John Adams called his appointment of Marshall to chief justice his greatest gift to the nation and "the pride of my life."
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“Unger is a masterful storyteller. As he unfolds
Marshall’s personal life, his career at law, and his service as chief justice,
Unger also provides a concise tale of the birth of the United States as a
unified country under the Constitution. This biography serves the dual purpose
of explaining Marshall’s critical role in saving the nation from chaos while
giving a concise account of the social and political forces at play during the
nation’s salad days…In telling the story of Marshall, Unger provides keen
insight into the very foundation of the United States of America and an
excellent introduction to the United States Constitution and the Supreme Court,
especially for those who want to know the story without having to read volumes
of case law and sometimes arcane exegetical texts.”
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Roanoke Times