What if John Marshall never became Chief Justice?

OldReliable1862

First Sergeant
Joined
Jul 2, 2017
Location
Georgia
While this may seem an odd topic for a Civil War site, I think this is related, albeit indirectly.

There can be little doubt that when it comes to influential Supreme Court Chief Justices, John Marshall sits at the top. The rulings his court handed down were crucial to the expansion of the power of the Supreme Court, and the supremacy of Federal over State law. That said, how would things have changed had Marshall never become Chief Justice?

Marshall's predecessor, fellow Federal Oliver Ellsworth, resigned in late 1800 due to illness. Let's say Ellsworth does not become ill until after Jefferson's election in March 1801. It was rumored Jefferson intended fellow Virginian, Judge Spencer Roane, for the Chief Justiceship.

Roane was as dedicated to the principles of states' rights as Marshall was to nationalism, and became a vocal critic of Marshall's rulings. Roane has even been called, "the Original Secessionist". It is possible the Roane Court would not hear the appeals of cases like McCullough v. Maryland or Cohens v. Virginia, which could easily result in the states having more power over law-making, as the power of judicial review is never established.

To return the focus to Marshall, he could be a Federalist candidate for president at some point. There was great interest in Marshall in 1812 before DeWitt Clinton was chosen. Marshall was arguably the stronger candidate, as he could give the party a fighting chance in Virginia and North Carolina.

@JeffBrooks, I thought this might interest as a Jeffersonian.
 
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Excellent topic. John Marshall was an iniquitous and brazenly corrupt judge, and he shamelessly distorted and perverted the Constitution to advance his nationalist political ideology and his personal agenda. In several crucial instances, where his rulings were most fraudulent, and unfortunately, most influential, his opinion and commentary had absolutely no textual support. And in those instances, he "supported" his rulings with bold-faced lies and "justified" them with counterfeit histories. Undoubtedly, Marshall's politicization and bastardization of the Constitution is an underappreciated, and perhaps even unrecognized, cause of The War for Southern Independence. Again, excellent topic.
 
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