Part II Matching: John Marshall’s Background Directions: Listed below are nine important events in the life of John Marshall. Explain the
significance of each factor in shaping his political philosophy by matching the event with its
significance.
Events:
1. John Marshall served in the Revolutionary Army for four years and suffered through
Valley Forge with George Washington, whom he adored.
2. John Marshall served in the Virginia legislature (1783-89) when Virginia planters refused
to pay their debts to English merchants.

3. Daniel Shays led his rebellion, and this country experienced a depression as well as
European disrespect during the period Marshall served in the Virginia legislature.
4. The bloody tales of the French Revolution filtered across the Atlantic to America. Many
Americans believed that the situation in France had become chaotic.
5. President Washington had been attacked because of the Proclamation of Neutrality in
1793, his actions to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion, and his acceptance of the unpopular
Jay Treaty.
6. John Marshall was sent to France in the late 1790s to try to stop French raids on
American shipping. Talleyrand tried to bribe Marshall and the other American
representatives. Marshall also saw Napoleon emerging from the chaos of the French
Revolution. He feared this autocratic new leader.
7. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions,
which were debated during the period 1799-1800. (One state declared a law of Congress
unconstitutional, another state declared the same law void, a third state said the law was
invalid, a fourth state said it was valid, and some states denied the right of Congress to
pass the law and asserted the states’ right to disregard the law.)
8. John Addams appointed John Marshall to serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
9. Thomas Jefferson, a Republican, became president, and Republicans took control of
Congress.
Significance:
A. The experience taught him the importance of a government’s having authority to
command obedience, particularly in instances involving the national interest.
B. John Marshall soon recognized the need to respect the office of the presidency even if one
disagreed with the decisions of the president.
C. Marshall got a chance to lead the court in interpreting the Constitution to increase the
powers of the federal government.
D. John Marshall learned the difficulty of conducting war without the government having
power to levy taxes or raise an army.
E. News of the French Revolution made clear a government’s need for authority to maintain
order.

AB. Various actions taken with respect to the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions convinced
Marshall of the need for national supremacy and an authority to interpret the meaning of the
Constitution.
AC. These events helped Marshall understand that a government must be able to raise a
militia to maintain order, to promote the country’s economic welfare and to command the
respect of foreign nations.
AD. As head of the only branch of government now under Federalist control, Marshall
recognized an obligation to use his power to implement Federalist principles in the new
government.
AE. The XYZ Affair taught Marshall the value of having sufficient power to command the
respect of foreign nations and the danger of a dictator taking advantage of the absence of
stable government.