Planning Resources

“An unlimited power to tax involves, necessarily, a power to destroy; because there is a limit beyond which no institution and no property can bear taxation. ... The power to create implies the power to preserve... That the power to tax involves the power to destroy; that the power to destroy may defeat and render useless the power to create."  - John Marshall, U.S. Supreme Court, Chief Justice - 1801-1835.

James Markham Marshall & John Marshall:

John Marshall was born in Fauquier County, Va., the eldest of fifteen siblings, and the Marshall family relocated to present day Markham when John was a boy. After the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, John joined the Continental Army, serving in numerous battles.* His father became Colonel of the 3rd Virginia, while his brother, James Markham Marshall, served in the 1st Virginia under Alexander Hamilton. After the war, John was elected to the House of Delegates and played a major role in Virginia’s ratification of the U.S. Constitution, in 1788. 

In 1797, at the request of President John Adams, John and two other diplomat's traveled to France to help bring an end to attacks on American shipping. In what became known as the ‘XYZ affair’, the French demanded bribes and a loan before formal negotiations could begin. Although not uncommon in European diplomatic relations at the time, the American's were so offended by the demands for bribes that they left France without ever engaging in formal negotiations. 

President Adams would appoint John James Marshall to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1801. He remains the longest serving Chief Justice in history and is considered the founder of Constitutional Law and one of the most influential justices to ever sit on the Supreme Court.

Learn More: Donation of Happy Creek Manor Property to Warren County, Sept. 18, 2018