John Marshall: A Life in Law

John Marshall: A Life In Law is a major biography - researched from thousands of unpublished papers - of the great American statesman whose life (1775 - 1853) spanned eighty critical, turbulent years in American history. We first meet John Marshall as a nineteen-year-old Virginia frontiersman urging the Minutemen to brighten their muskets; later, in the post-war years, Marshall emerges as a leader of the Richmond bar - perhaps the finest collection of lawyers in the nation's history. We see John Marshall, the "envoy extraordinaire," as he plays a crucial role in the famous Paris XYZ affair, and finally, as Chief Justice of the United States, a position he holds for three decades, forging the court into a strong arm of the federal government equal to the presidency and the Congress. Here also is John Marshall the man; a passionate husband, devoted family man, and brilliant peer of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Moore, Robert Morris, and Joseph Story.