John Marshall

John Marshall was born in a log cabin on the Virginia frontier, the eldest of fifteen children, and was taught mostly by his father. He served as an officer in the Continental Army, including the hard winter at Valley Forge, an experience that convinced him of the need for a strong national government. After brief legal training at the College of William and Mary, he became a leading Richmond lawyer, argued for ratifying the Constitution in Virginia, served as an envoy to France, as a congressman, and as Secretary of State under John Adams. In 1801 Adams appointed him Chief Justice, and he served for thirty-four years, the longest of any chief justice. In Marbury v. Madison in 1803 the Court under Marshall held that it could strike down laws that conflict with the Constitution. In McCulloch v. Maryland, Gibbons v. Ogden and other cases he upheld broad federal power and the sanctity of contracts. He persuaded the justices to issue single opinions of the Court. He also wrote a biography of George Washington. Marshall owned enslaved people. He died in 1835.

Faith: Not religious; he never formally joined a church, did not believe Jesus was divine, and wrote of a deist 'Creator'. Source: Wikipedia