John Marshall - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Marshall
4th Chief Justice of the United States
In office
February 4, 1801 – July 6, 1835
Nominated byJohn Adams
Preceded byOliver Ellsworth
Succeeded byRoger B. Taney
4th United States Secretary of State
In office
June 13, 1800 – February 4, 1801
PresidentJohn Adams
Preceded byTimothy Pickering
Succeeded byJames Madison
U.S. Representative from Virginia
In office
March 4, 1799 – June 7, 1800
Personal details
Born(1755-09-24)September 24, 1755
Germantown, Virginia
DiedJuly 6, 1835(1835-07-06) (aged 79)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Political partyFederalist
Spouse(s)Mary Willis Ambler
ProfessionLawyer, Judge
Military service
Branch/serviceCulpeper, Virginia Militia
RankCaptain
Battles/warsAmerican Revolutionary War

John Marshall (September 24, 1755 – July 6, 1835) was an American statesman and jurist who shaped American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court more powerful. Marshall was the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, working from February 4, 1801, until his death in 1835. He worked in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1799, to June 7, 1800, and, under President John Adams, was Secretary of State from June 6, 1800, to March 4, 1801. Marshall was from the Commonwealth of Virginia and a leader of the Federalist Party.

The longest working Chief Justice in Supreme Court history, Marshall ruled the Court for thirty years and was an important part of making the American legal system. His most important addition was judicial review; the power to stop laws that violate the Constitution. Marshall has been called the one that made the judicial branch special and powerful. Marshall also balanced the power between the federal and state government. He made sure the federal law was more powerful than state law and agreed with an expansive reading of the enumerated powers.