John Marshall’s strong personality and many Supreme Court decisions established the fourth chief justice as the most significant figure in the court’s early years. His interpretation of the Constitution profoundly influenced the federal judiciary’s authority over state courts and laws and wielded an enormous impact on American commerce.

This volume contains some of Marshall’s landmark decisions—Marbury v. Madison, Fletcher v. Peck, Dartmouth College v. Woodward, McCulloch v. Maryland, Cohens v. Virginia, and Gibbons v. Ogden—as well as his autobiographical account, his speech about ratifying the Constitution, and the preface to his biography of George Washington. Marshall’s writings are essential reading for students, lawyers, politicians, and anyone interested in understanding the Supreme Court’s powerful role in the US government and its laws.