The peculiar circumstances of the moment may render a measure more or less wise, but cannot render it more or less constitutional.
John MarshallIn a free government almost all other rights would become worthless if the government possessed power over the private fortune of every citizen.
John MarshallA corporation is an artificial being, invisible, intangible, and existing only in contemplation of law.
John MarshallCertainly all those who have framed written constitutions contemplate them as forming the fundamental and paramount law of the nation, and consequently the theory of every such government must be, that an act of the legislature, repugnant to the constitution, is void.
John MarshallI have always believed that national character... depends more on the female part of society than is generally imagined. Precepts from the lips of a beloved mother... sink deep in the heart, and make an impression which is seldom entirely effaced.
John MarshallNo principle of general law is more universally acknowledged, than the perfect equality of nations. Russia and Geneva have equal rights. It results from this equality, that no one can rightfully impose a rule on another....As no nation can prescribe a rule for others, none can make a law of nations.
John Marshall