Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/212

 200 MARSHALL delivered by Mr. Wythe at William and Mary college, and Bishop Madison's lectures on nat- ural philosophy. In the ensuing summer he was licensed to practise law, but his military duties drew him back to the army. The pro- ject to raise additional forces in Virginia seems to have failed, and he set out alone and on foot to make the long journey to headquarters. On his arrival in Philadelphia his appearance was so shabby that the landlord of the hotel at which he stopped refused him admittance. He continued in the army until after the invasion of Virginia by Arnold in 1781, when, finding a redundancy of officers in the Virginia line, he resigned. At the close of the war he began practice as an attorney, and his success was marked from the commencement. The be- nevolence, placidity, and sweetness of his tem- per gained him a host of friends; and "that extraordinary comprehension and grasp of mind, by which difficulties were seized and overcome without difficulty or parade, com- manded the attention and respect of the courts of justice." In 1782 he was a member of the house of delegates from Fauquier, and in the autumn of the same year was appointed one of the council of state. After his marriage in 1783 with Mary Willis Ambler, daughter of Treasurer Ambler, he resigned his seat in the executive council, and fixed his residence in Richmond. In spite of his removal from the county, his old neighbors reflected him a mem- ber of the house, and in 1787 he sat in the same body as representative from the county of Henrico. In June, 1788, the Virginia con- vention to act upon the constitution drawn up by the Philadelphia convention assembled, and Marshall was a member. He took a conspicu- ous stand by the side of James Madison, Ed- mund Pendleton, and other distinguished ad- vocates of its acceptance. His defence of the constitution against its assailants was masterly. On three occasions, the debates on taxation, on the judiciary, and on the power over tho militia, he gave full scope to his powerful lo- gic and massive faculty of reasoning. The in- strument was finally accepted by a vote of 89 to 79. Marshall and Madison were justly re- garded as having done more for the adoption of the federal plan of government than any other members of the convention. The legis- lature having in 1788 directed that hereafter the city of Richmond should be entitled to a representative in the house, Marshall was elect- ed, and continued to sit in the assembly during the sessions of 1789, 1790, and 1791. Virginia was the headquarters of the state rights party, whose views were represented in the national cabinet by Thomas Jefferson ; and a majority of the people of the commonwealth were op- posed to the measures of the administration. The great question whether the United States institution should be strictly or liberally con- "tnu-d was the point at issue. Marshall sup- l>..rt,'.l tin- federal view with the calmness and moderation of tone which characterized him, but with all the vigor which his friends had expected. When in 1792 he retired from the body, he left not an enemy behind him. From 1792 to 1795 he devoted himself exclusively to his practice, which had greatly increased. In 1793 he appeared prominently in public meet- ings on the side of the administration of Wash- ington, and defended the proclamation of neu- trality occasioned by the insolent conduct of Genest, the French minister. He also advocated Washington's policy with his pen, and secured the passage by a meeting of the citizens of a set of resolutions approving it, which he had draft- ed. In 1795 he sat again in the house of dele- gates. In the violent discussions on Jay's treaty, Marshall appeared as its champion ; and before an assembly of citizens who had denounced the proposed measure he defended it so powerful- ly that they reversed their former action, and adopted resolutions in favor of the federal pol- icy. In the legislature he opposed the resolutions condemnatory of the treaty in a speech which is represented to have been one of the greatest and noblest of his performances. The result was that the constitutional ground of objec- tion was abandoned, and the assembly confined itself simply to an expression of its disapproba- tion of the treaty on the ground of its inex- pediency at the time. Washington offered Mar- shall the place of attorney general, which he declined, as interfering with a practice at the bar which had now become very lucrative. In 1796 he was offered the appointment of min- ister to France, but declined it for the same reason. Gen. Pinckney was appointed in his place, but the French directory refused to re- ceive him; and in 1797 President Adams sent a new commission to Marshall, who yielded his objections, and with Pinckney and Gerry pro- ceeded as envoy extraordinary to Paris, to ne- gotiate with the directory in relation to the obstructions thrown in the way of the com- merce of the United States. These negotia- tions failed ; but the envoys, returning in June, 1798, were received with approval and ap- plause. In New York Marshall was honored with a military escort, and crowds thronged his lodgings, to testify their gratitude and respect. Public addresses were offered him, and a public dinner by members of both houses of congress. Marshall had faithfully reflected the views of the administration and the federal party of the country generally, in his official acts ; and he approved of the series of measures directed against France, which were so violently op- posed by the republicans. He returned to the practice of the law, but was soon again urged to appear in defence of his party. Washing- ton sent for him to visit him at Mount Vernon, and he finally consented to run for congress, and was elected in 1799 by a small majority. During the canvass, Adams offered him a seat on the bench of the United States supreme court, which he declined. In congress he be- came the main stay and reliance of the admin- istration, though he seems not to have approved