Shaping of America 1783-1815 Biographies | John Marshall Biography

Born September 24, 1755 (Germantown, Virginia)
Died July 6, 1835 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court

John Marshall grew up as a Virginia gentleman who was accepted into the most famous group of national leaders this nation ever produced. His fellow Virginian revolutionaries included George Washington (1732–1799; see entry in volume 2), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826; see entry in volume 1), James Madison (1751–1836; see entry in volume 2), and Edmund Randolph (1753–1813; see entry in volume 2). In January 1801, the U.S. Senate approved Marshall as chief justice of the Supreme Court. At the time, it was a weak federal position. Over the next thirty-four years, however, Marshall made it into one of the most powerful positions in the national government.