Thomas Francis Marshall (June 7, 1801 – September 22, 1864) was a politician and lawyer from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. He was the nephew of John Marshall.

Early life and family

Thomas Marshall was born June 7, 1801, in Frankfort, Kentucky."Marshall, Thomas Francis". ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress'' He was a son of Dr. Louis Marshall and the nephew of John Marshall.''Biographical Cyclopedia'', p. 271 Marshall received his early education from his parents. He then studied in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

under his uncle, James Marshall. Returning to Kentucky, he studied law under

John J. Crittenden John Jordan Crittenden (September 10, 1787 July 26, 1863) was an American statesman and politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. He represented the state in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and twice served as Unite ...

. He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in

Versailles, Kentucky Versailles () is a home rule-class city in Woodford County, Kentucky, United States. It lies by road west of Lexington and is part of the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. Versailles has a population of 9,316 according to 2017 cen ...

in 1828.

Political career

Marshall attended the convention that drafted the 1830

Constitution of Virginia The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the document that defines and limits the powers of the state government and the basic rights of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Like all other state constitutions, it is supreme ...

to observe the debate among the delegates, which included his uncle John Marshall, John Randolph,

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...

, and

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

. He befriended Henry Clay and was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1832. While a member of the House, he distinguished himself by a report denouncing the doctrine of

nullification Nullification may refer to: * Nullification (U.S. Constitution), a legal theory that a state has the right to nullify any federal law deemed unconstitutional with respect to the United States Constitution * Nullification Crisis, the 1832 confront ...

, as proposed by the state of

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

to the several states. He moved to

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

in 1833 and resumed his legal practice, but his practice was again interrupted by election to the Kentucky House of Representatives, where he served until 1836. In 1837, Marshall sought election to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, but was defeated by incumbent William J. Graves. Embarrassed by the loss, he returned to Woodford County and was elected twice more to the state legislature, serving from 1838 to 1839. In 1841, he was elected a Whig to represent Kentucky's Tenth District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Although he was a frequent orator in that body, only two of his speeches were reported in the local newspapers owing to his admonition to reporters not to "pass on the public their infernal gibberish for my English". After publicly differing with Henry Clay on the issues of renewing the charter of the

Second Bank of the United States The Second Bank of the United States was the second federally authorized Hamiltonian national bank in the United States. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the bank was chartered from February 1816 to January 1836.. The Bank's formal name, ...

and the

annexation of Texas The Texas annexation was the 1845 annexation of the Republic of Texas into the United States. Texas was admitted to the Union as the 28th state on December 29, 1845. The Republic of Texas declared independence from the Republic of Mexico ...

, he considered it futile to run for re-election in Clay's home district and declined to seek renomination to his seat in Congress. Marshall campaigned for

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

, Clay's opponent in the

1844 presidential election The 1844 United States presidential election was the 15th quadrennial presidential election, held from Friday, November 1 to Wednesday, December 4, 1844. Democrat James K. Polk defeated Whig Henry Clay in a close contest turning on the controv ...

. In 1845, he was again unsuccessful in his bid for a seat in Congress, losing to

Garrett Davis Garrett Davis (September 10, 1801 – September 22, 1872) was a U.S. Senator and Representative from Kentucky. Early life Born in Mount Sterling, Kentucky, Garrett Davis was the brother of Amos Davis. After completing preparatory studies, Dav ...

.''Biographical Cyclopedia'', p. 272 During the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

, he served a captain of cavalry

volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

for a year. After returning from the war, Marshall unsuccessfully sought to be a delegate to the constitutional convention that drafted the 1850

Kentucky Constitution The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the document that governs the Kentucky, Commonwealth of Kentucky. It was first adopted in 1792 and has since been rewritten three times and amended many more. The later versions were adopted in 179 ...

. He campaigned for

Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861, taking part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early s ...

in the 1852 presidential election and was again elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1854. He served a single term, which marked his last service in public office.

Later life and death

In 1856, Marshall moved to

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He later returned to Kentucky and continued to practice law. He devoted the latter years of his life to the study of geology and history, and lectured in the northern and eastern United States. A collection of his writings and speeches was edited by W. L. Barre (Cincinnati, 1858). He died near Versailles, Kentucky, on September 22, 1864 and was interred in

Frankfort Cemetery The Frankfort Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located on East Main Street in Frankfort, Kentucky. The cemetery is the burial site of Daniel Boone and contains the graves of other famous Americans including seventeen Kentucky governors and a ...

in Frankfort, Kentucky.

Early life and family

Political career

Later life and death

References

Bibliography

External links

Further reading