A portrait of the influential chief justice, statesman, and diplomat illuminates his pivotal role in the establishment of the Constitution and Supreme Court and recounts his work as an advisor to multiple presidents.
My thoughts on this book
Without Precedent was a book that was on my reading list for a long time before I finally broke down and purchased it. As someone who considers themselves relatively well read on early American history, I knew very little about John Marshall other than the fact that he was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and was considered highly influential in that role.
What I did not know was that John Marshall spent virtually his entire career as a foil/anti-hero to most of Thomas Jefferson’s worst impulses (of which there were many!), that John Marshall was a staunch federalist, and was Jefferson’s cousin to boot.
Overall I found this to be a very interesting read though not nearly as engaging as Chernow’s Hamilton, or any of the McCullough books about this era though in fairness, few are.
My Rating