MARSHALL, JOHN

born Sept. 24, 1755, near Germantown, Va.

died July 6, 1835, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.

U.S. patriot, politician, and jurist.

In 1775 he joined a regiment of minutemen and served as a lieutenant under Gen. George Washington in the American Revolution . After his discharge (1781), he served in the Virginia legislature and on Virginia's executive council (1782–95), gaining a reputation as a leading Federalist. He supported ratification of the U.S. Constitution at the state's ratifying convention. He was one of three commissioners sent to France in 1797–98 (see XYZ Affair ); he later served as secretary of state (1800–01) under Pres. John Adams . In 1801 Adams named Marshall chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States , a post he held until his death. He participated in more than 1,000 decisions, writing 519 himself. During his tenure, the Supreme Court set forth the main structure of the government; its groundbreaking decisions included Marbury v. Madison , which established judicial review ; McCulloch v. Maryland , which affirmed the constitutional doctrine of "implied powers"; the Dartmouth College case , which protected businesses and corporations from much government regulation; and Gibbons v. Ogden , which established that states cannot interfere with Congress's right to regulate commerce. Marshall is remembered as the principal founder of the U.S. system of constitutional law.