Marshall's greatness is the product of his belief in the now-unfashionable presupposition that there are right answers to legal questions.
Matthew J. Franck
What was the purpose and the effect of the Marshall Court’s decision in McCulloch v. Maryland?
We tend to think of George Washington as the Marble Man, whom all admired and none opposed—Marshall's sober history complicates this view.
Unlike our latter-day advocates of judicial engagement, Marshall saw that the separation of powers embodied principled limits on the judge’s role.
Edward S. Corwin's The "Higher Law" Background of American Constitutional Law offers some insight into the early influences on our law.