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Book Review: Without Precedent-Chief Justice John Marshall and His Times

As Joel Richard Paul makes clear in his 2018 biography of John Marshall entitled Without Precedent: Chief Justice John Marshall and His Times, there was much more to the book's subject than his illustrious tenure as the first among equals on his nation's highest court of law. Marshall was also a Revolutionary War veteran who served under Washington at Valley Forge, he was a member of the House of Representatives, a successful lawyer, a diplomat in France at a time of great corruption and unrest in that nation, and Secretary of State at a time when President John Adams struggled mightily to keep America out a war with a former ally that it could not win. He was also a dedicated Federalist at a time when his cousin, Thomas Jefferson, was undermining much that Marshall stood for. He was also a devoted husband to an ailing wife (albeit one who may have strayed from his marriage vows on occasion), and a father to problematic children. But it was the three and a half decades that he spent as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States that distinguished Marshall in the history of his nation as a brilliant jurist and a leader who was capable of confronting the unique challenges facing his nation.



Paul has tremendous admiration for his subject, but he has no hesitation in disclosing Marshall's shortcomings and the times when Marshall was inconsistent in his judicial pronouncements and when he compromised principle for pragmatism. Despite a well-earned reputation as a brilliant jurist, Paul convincingly makes the case that John Marshall was first and foremost a pragmatist who was also a strong consensus builder. Marshall was determined to build the Judiciary into a co-equal branch of government and his judgements were crafted not with a blind fidelity to legal precedent, but with a deep regard for keeping the nation united and for maintaining a strong central government.

Marshall had a fascinating life and career that crossed path with every President from George Washington (his wartime commander), John Adams (his fellow Federalist in whose cabinet he served in), Thomas Jefferson (his cousin and ideological opponent), James Madison, James Monroe (his longtime friend despite their differing political views), John Quincy Adams (who argued cases before him) and finally Andrew Jackson, the first president to openly defy a ruling of the court.

Much of the book discusses the many landmark decisions written by Marshall. These accounts will be of more interest to those with a legal background, but Paul capably frames the facts and the importance of the issues, as well as Marshall's big picture thinking about the outcome. On occasion Marshall would join those on the other side of an issue, rather than dissent, because as the court's senior member he could then write the majority opinion and control the message of the court. The author provides the reader with a good understanding of Marshall's genius, not only as a jurist, but as a founding father who helped to shape the future of his nation.

John Marshall is a historical giant about whom very little is known. This biography lives up to its title in that it provides the reader with a clear picture of who John Marshall was, how he grew as a leader and as a jurist, in a time when his nation was going through some growing pains of its own.