Marshall met his wife Mary Willis Ambler(Polly) …show more content…
In 1776, Marshall became a lieutenant in the 11th Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army. During the American Revolutionary War, he served in several battles, including the Battle of Brandywine, and endured the winter at Valley Forge. After he was furloughed in 1780, Marshall began attending the College of William and Mary. Marshall read law under the famous Chancellor George Wythe at William and Mary, and he was admitted to the state bar in 1780. After briefly rejoining the Continental Army, Marshall won election to the Virginia House of Delegates in early 1782.Following the 1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord, Thomas and John Marshall offered their services to the 3rd Virginia Regiment. By 1776, Marshall held the rank of lieutenant in the 11th Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army. Throughout the American Revolutionary War, he participated in various battles, such as the Battle of Brandywine, and endured the harsh winter at Valley Forge. After being granted leave in 1780, Marshall enrolled at the College of William and Mary. There, he studied law under the renowned Chancellor George Wythe and was admitted to the state bar in the same year. Upon briefly rejoining the Continental Army, …show more content…
In the past, as was done in the Virginia Supreme Court of his day and is still done in the UK and Australia today, each Justice would write a separate opinion, known as a seriatim opinion. Marshall, however, created the practice of the Supreme Court delivering a single majority ruling, which enabled it to establish a definitive norm. [65] Just two months a year, from the first Monday in February to the second or third week in March, did the Court convene in Washington. The justices served on circuits in the several states for half of the year. During the Court's Washington sessions, Marshall's opinions were straightforward and unremarkable. His effect on learned men of the law stemmed from his charming demeanor and ability to latch on to essential components of a case and make highly persuasive arguments. When both he and Marshall worked in the Adams administration, Oliver Wolcott noticed that Marshall had the skill of "putting his own ideas into the minds of others, unconsciously to them". By 1811, Justices selected by a Democratic-Republican president dominated the Court 5-to-2, but Marshall maintained ideological and personal control. Marshall routinely limited his own ideas, preferring to reach choices by consensus. Only once was he on the losing end of a constitutional