Before John Marshall, the most basic responsibilities of the judicial system did not exist. In fact, judges couldn't even overturn blatantly unconstitutional laws. With Marshall, however, everything changed. Through his tenure as Chief Justice, John Marshall established the ground rules for the new American government by strengthening the judicial branch and emerging the three equal branches of government essential to American politics. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Great men often had very humble beginnings, and John Marshall was no exception. He was born in a log cabin in Germantown, Virginia, on September 24, 1755, the first of fifteen children born to Thomas Marshall and Mary Keith. He wasn't the only member of his family to achieve greatness; his brother James served as a judge on the Circuit Court in Washington, D.C., his brothers Keith, William, and Charles were lawyers, and his cousin Humphrey became a U.S. Senator for Kentucky. As a child, Marshall's education was formative for his future. He was home-schooled by his father for much of his childhood, cultivating a love of classic and contemporary literature that would aid him in his future endeavors. At the age of fourteen he was sent to Campbell Academy in Washington, where he attended classes with future president James Monroe. From 1775 to 1780, Marshall served in the Continental Army, initially as a lieutenant and finally as a captain; his admiration for his commander George Washington grew, especially after they endured the harsh winter together at Valley Forge. After the war he studied law at the College of William and Mary and was admitted to the bar in 1780. He began his legal practice defending clients from British creditors, which prepared him for the long legal and political career that lay ahead of him. Marshall's political career was truly long and was crucial in the formation of the new independent America. It began in 1782 when he won a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates, a position to which he would return in later years. He began preparing for his future as Chief Justice in 1785 when he became city recorder, where one of his duties was presiding over small court cases. Marshall made a name for himself as a just and intelligent man who governed based on the common good (Life and Legacy). A few years later, his reputation earned him a role in the Virginia convention to ratify the United States Constitution; he then used his popularity to encourage others to ratify the Constitution and won by a narrow margin (Britannica). Shortly thereafter he turned down several positions, such as attorney general of the United States and minister to France, in favor of continuing his private law practice, which was thriving at the time. In 1798, however, he accepted President John Adams' request to participate as an envoy in the diplomatic mission that later became known as the XYZ Affair. Along with Elbridge Gerry and Charles Pinckney, Marshall was sent to France in an attempt to restore harmony between the United States and France, particularly to stop French attacks on American shipping. The three men were scheduled to meet with the Foreign Minister, the Marquis de Talleyrand, but were instead met by several mediators known anonymously as X, Y and Z. The French agreed to stop the attacks in exchange for an agreement to pay American mercantile claims . against the French and donate a large sum of money to the Marquis. This resulted in and culminated in a Cold War-like conflict between France and Americain the formal breaking of any official alliance with the United States (history.state.gov). During this period, Marshall was elected Secretary of State and led the negotiations that led to continued American isolationism. He served as Secretary of State for about a year and was then appointed Chief Justice, after the first Chief Justice John Jay declined reappointment. Marshall was sworn in on February 4, 1801, which marked the end of his political career and opened his long and successful legal career. Marshall served as Chief Justice for thirty-four years, the longest tenure of any chief justice, and during this time he established the basic rules of American government (Smith). He has ruled on over 1000 decisions, writing the opinions for over half of them. This was a major change in the functioning of the Supreme Court; before Marshall it was common for each justice to write his own opinion for each case, but Marshall's court published only one opinion. This practice gave an impression of authority on the part of the Supreme Court, as multiple opinions regarding a new and unexplored body of law created a lack of certainty and confidence in both legislators and the law itself (Britannica). Marshall's court was also known for its unanimity and stability; with only occasional dissenters, the court was able to rule much more effectively and authoritatively than it had under previous chief justices. Because of Marshall's deft handling of the Supreme Court, he was able to rule on countless decisions that shaped the very structure of American government. Marshall's most famous ruling, and arguably the most important ruling in the history of the Supreme Court, was Marbury v. Madison in 1803. The circumstances surrounding this case were complicated (PBS). In the disputed election of 1800, Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson defeated Federalist John Adams, causing a few months of political panic for the largely Federalist Congress before Jefferson's inauguration. With the help of the Judiciary Act, Adams created several positions for judges and appointed a large number of justices of the peace and circuit courts in his final days and hours of the presidency; in fact, it was then that Marshall received the nomination for Chief Justice. Adams did so with the intention of ensuring that the Federalists would remain in power even with a Democratic-Republican president, as judicial positions were generally filled for life. These commissions, however, were not delivered on time, and when President Jefferson took office on March 5, 1801, he ordered that James Madison, his secretary of state, could not deliver the remaining commissions, thus invalidating them. William Marbury was one of the appointees whose commission was not delivered and requested a writ of mandamus from the Supreme Court forcing Madison to deliver the commissions. The Marshall court considered several questions in determining its ruling: “Is Marbury entitled to the commission? Does the law grant Marbury a remedy? Does the Supreme Court have the authority to review acts of Congress and determine whether they are unconstitutional and therefore void (lawnix.com)?” they were among the most important. It was decided that while Marbury was entitled to the commission and the law granted him a remedy, the court could not write a mandamus for him because the Judiciary Act of 1789 which guaranteed that right was directly contradicted by the Constitution. In ruling thus, the Marshall court established that the purpose of the Supreme Court was judicial review; that is, the Supreme Court could strike down laws passed by Congress if they were deemed unconstitutional. This important sentence he gave 1776.