Where the Streets All Have Names: Marshall Street

Portrait of John Marshall by Henry Inman

The 13th street west of Sheridan Boulevard was originally named Pierce or simply M Street. In 1903 the new U.S. Senators and Supreme Court Justices alphabet naming system was implemented, and the road was renamed after America’s 4th, and longest serving, Supreme Court Chief Justice, John Marshall.

Marshall was born in 1755 at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia frontier. The oldest of 15 children, Marshall was largely self-educated, having attended only a single year of formal school. At age 20, Marshall joined the Revolutionary War, volunteering for the 3rd Virginia Regiment. He fought in several major battles, and spent the bitter winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge alongside General George Washington.

In 1780, Marshall left the military and went to study law at William and Mary College. He joined the bar and established a successful practice defending clients from British creditors. It was during this time that he also entered politics, having been elected to the State of Virginia Legislature. During this time, he fought for the ratification of the newly authored Constitution of the United States.

In 1797 Marshall joined the federal government as President John Adam’s envoy to France. Marshall went on to serve a single term in the House of Representatives before joining Adam’s cabinet as Secretary of State. Adams would lose his reelection bid to Thomas Jefferson, and during his lame duck period he appointed many judges, including Marshall as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Marshall took office mere weeks before Jefferson’s inauguration.

Marshall would hear many cases while on the court, issuing over a 1,000 decisions, but probably none as important as Marbury v. Madison, which established the principle of judicial review and affirmed the power of the Supreme Court to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional. It was a decision in line with his strong Federalist belief in a powerful federal government. The decision made the SCOTUS a co-equal branch of government, and is still felt to this day.

Marshall was a slaveholder, having owned hundreds of slaves. During his time as Chief Justice he authored most of the decisions concerning slavery. His decisions were often contemptuous of free black men and favorable towards those violating the federal ban on the African slave trade. Although he did represent slaves, usually mixed race, Pro Bono, he also argued against the mass emancipation of enslaved African Americans, fearing it would lead to revolution.

Like many early political figures in the United States, Marshall had a troubling record with slavery and the treatment of people of color in general. Despite that, he was an extremely influential figure in early American politics. His legacy continues to be felt in the principles of federalism and judicial review that he helped establish. At the age of 79, Marshall passed, having served 34 years as Chief Justice. It remains the longest term of any Chief Justice. Upon his death, it is said the Liberty Bell was rung for what would be the last time, as it was then, it would crack.