[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 116 (Thursday, September 23, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S9606]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           COMMEMORATING THE 249TH BIRTHDAY OF JOHN MARSHALL

  Mr. ALLEN. Madam President, I rise today to honor the birth of one of 
Virginia's and America's true citizen soldiers, statesmen, and most 
importantly jurists, the former Chief Justice of the United States 
Supreme Court, John Marshall.
  John Marshall's legacy as a Federalist is truly remarkable, but what 
many people fail to address is his true love for a young America and 
the desire to see our country succeed and persevere for generations to 
come.
  A native Virginian, from Germantown, he grew up with his parents 
Thomas and Mary Randolph Keith. His devotion to our Nation was ever 
present when the Revolutionary War began with the firing of the 
historic shots at Lexington and Concord. Like so many of his great 
countrymen, Marshall did not waver in spirit or succumb to fear; 
Marshall picked up arms against the tyrannical oppressive British Crown 
and defended the freedom and liberty that he envisioned for Virginians 
and other colonies.
  At the young age of 20, Marshall joined the Culpeper Minute Men. He 
was chosen a lieutenant. Marshall proceeded to nobly fight in the 
battle of Great Bridge. In fact, while enduring the cold winter at 
Valley Forge, Marshall was General George Washington's chief legal 
officer and by the end of his military service, John Marshall was a 
brigadier general for the Second Brigade in the Virginia Militia.
  After his valiant war service, Marshall returned to Virginia to study 
law under George Wythe at the College of William and Mary. He was 
admitted to Phi Beta Kappa and the Virginia Bar. Marshall's desire to 
practice in the courts and the Court of Appeals led him to the great 
capital city of Richmond. It is in Richmond where Marshall's political 
and judicial life began to flourish.
  John Marshall became one of the leading attorneys defending 
Virginians in the United States District Court of Virginia, and as a 
consequence, he was selected to be the lead counsel in arguing the 
landmark case, Ware v. Hylton, in the 1796 term of the United States 
Supreme Court. This case would be the only case that John Marshall 
would argue before the Nation's highest court. John Marshall lost this 
case when the Court held that a treaty between the United States and 
Great Britain terminating the war requiring Americans to pay the debts 
they owed to British creditors not in State currency, but in the 
equivalent of gold.
  Like his legal career, Marshall saw success in politics. He held 
legislative office as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, a 
member of the Governor's Council of State, and finally as a member of 
the United States House of Representatives. But one of his most 
important, but overlooked roles is his election to the Virginia 
convention that ratified the Federal Constitution. Marshall rose and 
delivered a very poignant speech on the role of the judiciary. This 
speech dispelled many of the fears of a Federal court system and truly 
defined his views on the proper function of government.
  However, John Marshall was not a boisterous individual. He refused 
many attempts by President Adams to appoint him to Federal office. But 
he accepted and served as a diplomatic envoy to France for President 
Adams as well as Adams' Secretary of State. It was with his dedicated 
service as Secretary of State that led President Adams to appoint 
Marshall to the United States Supreme Court, where his legacy would 
endure.
  We all know the landmark cases that John Marshall decided. From 
McCulloch v. Maryland to Gibbons v. Ogden, Marshall's contribution to 
the American judiciary system is ever present. But the case that truly 
enshrines his legacy is his ruling in Marbury v. Madison. In fact, what 
made this more impressive was that Marbury was the first case that the 
Supreme Court and John Marshall heard after Marshall became Chief 
Justice of the United States.
  Marshall's ruling in Marbury v. Madison has defined the role of the 
Supreme Court and its pivotal place in our system of checks and 
balances. Although the decision limited the power of the Supreme Court, 
it also served to establish the Court's authority to review the 
constitutionality of acts of Congress. The doctrine of judicial review 
became a fundamental principle of Constitutional law.
  While I am a Jeffersonian who wishes to limit the reach and meddling 
of the Federal Government into the rights and prerogatives of the 
people and the States, I do believe these foundational Constitutional 
questions, debates, and decisions are noteworthy for the education of 
our present leaders and students. Such attention to historic figures 
such as John Marshall will help our young people better understand what 
it means to be an American.
  It is with great honor that I stand here today and celebrate the 
birthday of one of our great citizen soldiers, statesmen, and Chief 
Justices. We should celebrate John Marshall's contribution to our 
country. His steadfast commitment to federalism helped define the role 
of the courts and may have ultimately preserved the delicate 
equilibrium of our Government. But what trumped his loyalty to the 
federalist way of life, was his love for his Nation and his desire to 
see America flourish into the great country that it is today.
  I would like to take this opportunity to wish a happy 249th birthday 
to Chief Justice John Marshall, and I look forward to the festivities 
that are being planned to honor Chief Justice Marshall's 250th birthday 
next year.




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