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

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. He was the nephew of

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, jurist, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remai ...

Early life and family

Marshall was born June 7, 1801, in

Frankfort, Kentucky Frankfort is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city and the county seat, seat of Franklin County, Kentucky, Franklin County in the Upland Sou ...

."Marshall, Thomas Francis". ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress'' He was a son of Dr. Louis Marshall and the nephew of

.''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 U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

under his uncle, James Marshall. Returning to Kentucky, he studied law under John J. Crittenden. He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Versailles, Kentucky, 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 (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

, and

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...

. He befriended

Henry Clay Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...

and was elected to the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...

in 1832. While a member of the House, he distinguished himself by a report denouncing the doctrine of nullification, as proposed by the state of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

to the several states. He moved to

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, 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 is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

, 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 Second Report on Public Credit, Hamiltonian national bank in the United States. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the bank was chartered from February 1816 to January ...

and the annexation of Texas, 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. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy and ...

, Clay's opponent in the 1844 presidential election. In 1845, he was again unsuccessful in his bid for a seat in Congress, losing to Garrett Davis.''Biographical Cyclopedia'', p. 272 During the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

, he served a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of cavalry

volunteers Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergenc ...

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. He campaigned for

Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as Commanding General of the United States Army from 1841 to 1861, and was a veteran of the War of 1812, American Indian Wars, Mexica ...

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 Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. 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 in

Early life and family

Political career

Later life and death

References

Bibliography

External links

Further reading