| During the eight years before his appointment as Chief Justice, John Marshall participated in political activities and held offices at the national level which schooled him in the concepts of international law. Previous scholarship ascribing to Marshall on-the-court training in international law must be corrected to reflect this understanding.; As private counsel for debtors in the British debt cases, Marshall studied and used international law to support the arguments he advanced at the appellate and Supreme Court levels. As minister extraordinaire to France, he delineated United States rights under specific treaties and under the concept of neutrality as defined by the law of nations. As a representative from Virginia in the House of Representatives, Marshall argued issues involving the interpretation of international law and, as Secretary of State, he directed negotiations with foreign countries based on the interpretation of the legal rights of the United States as an independent sovereign.; Marshall's support for the administrations of Presidents Washington and Adams, especially in foreign affairs, led him to articulate the legal bases for administration policies and treaty obligations. On the Bench, he applied the principles of international law with which he was thoroughly familiar to the myriad of fact situations which came before the Supreme Court. His dedication to the principles of constitutional government was matched by his dedication to world order. During the decade when the nation was becoming established, Marshall developed an appreciation for and a knowledge of the law of nations. |
