John Marshall’s legacy
John Marshall was the greatest judge in American history. In his 34 years as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1801-1835)—still a record for length of service—he defined corporations and commerce, and upheld the power of the federal judiciary, when necessary, to rebuke states, Congress and the president. His opinions, from Marbury v. Madison to Worcester v. Georgia, still impact broad areas of American life. Veteran, politician, devoted husband, down to earth neighbor, John Marshall was the man who made the Supreme Court.
Host Richard Brookhiser
For fifty years historian and journalist Richard Brookhiser has covered everything from the Jamestown Colony to pandemics past and present. He is the biographer of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Marshall, James Madison and Abraham Lincoln. He is a senior editor of National Review and a columnist for American History. In 2008 he was awarded the National Medal for the Humanities. John Marshall: The Man Who Made the Supreme Court is his third documentary.
The Interviews
More than two dozen extensive hour-long interviews with prominent historians, legal scholars, judges and Supreme Court Justices were recorded during nine months of filming across the US and all appear in abbreviated form throughout the documentary. As interviewees like Chief Justice Roberts and others provide so much more in-depth information about John Marshall’s life, work and legacy than can ever be included within a single documentary, we are providing twenty-five of these interviews in full.
