Details
MARSHALL, JOHN, Chief Justice. Autograph letter signed ("JMarshall") to an unidentified recipient, Richmond, 2 July 1789. 2 pages, small 4to, 185 x 150mm. (7 1/4 x 6 in.), edges worn, loss at left margin (not affecting text). The future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, one of the principal founders of the American system of constitutional law and judicial review gives some legal advice: "In the claim you enquire into concerning your father's debts...[H]is death has prevented a decision & no person has as yet qualified as his executor against whom the suit may stand rec[eive]d...Instead of bringing a suit in chancery to perpetuate your testimony respecting the land you say you purchased...I presume a letter to bring a suit for a conveyance...I send you your papers relative to your affair..."
John Marshall (1755-1835) a noted Virginia Federalist, was admitted to the bar in 1780 and used his great success as a lawyer to launch his political career, serving on the Virginia State Assembly for more than a decade and as a delegate to the state convention that ratified the Constitution. President Adams named Marshall Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1801, a position he held with great prestige for 34 years.
John Marshall (1755-1835) a noted Virginia Federalist, was admitted to the bar in 1780 and used his great success as a lawyer to launch his political career, serving on the Virginia State Assembly for more than a decade and as a delegate to the state convention that ratified the Constitution. President Adams named Marshall Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1801, a position he held with great prestige for 34 years.