II. The Marshall Court
1801–1835
The Great Chief Justice. Judicial review, federal supremacy, and the Court as a co-equal branch — all established here.
Bushrod Washington
George Washington's nephew and Marshall's closest colleague on the early Court. One of the most underappreciated justices of the founding era.
Alfred Moore
A North Carolina jurist who served only four years and wrote a single opinion. Among the most obscure justices in Court history.
John Marshall
The architect of American constitutional law. His 34-year tenure established judicial review, federal supremacy, and the Court's authority as a co-equal branch of government.
William Johnson
The "first great dissenter" — the most intellectually independent of Marshall's colleagues, who chafed under the Chief Justice's dominating influence.
Henry Brockholst Livingston
A New York jurist from a prominent political family — Revolutionary officer, duelist, and a capable if not towering presence on the Marshall Court.
Thomas Todd
A Kentucky jurist specializing in land law who served reliably but without great distinction on the Marshall Court.
Gabriel Duvall
Served 23 years yet left almost no judicial legacy, writing fewer than 20 opinions and becoming famously deaf in his later years.
Joseph Story
Marshall's most brilliant colleague — simultaneously a Harvard Law professor and the author of foundational legal treatises still cited today. The youngest justice ever appointed, at 32.
Smith Thompson
A former Secretary of the Navy who brought a politician's pragmatism to the bench — and ran for Governor of New York while sitting on the Court.
Robert Trimble
A Kentucky jurist who died after only two years on the Court, leaving unfulfilled what contemporaries viewed as great promise.