That’s the title of my new Confirmation Tales post, the first of a series of three (I think) on John Adams’s appointment of John Marshall as Chief Justice. I found this matter very interesting to dig into, and I hope that you will enjoy my posts. Here’s the opening of today’s:
It’s easy in hindsight to think that some individuals were destined to become Supreme Court justices. But there is no such thing as an inevitable justice. Every justice’s path to the Supreme Court involves happenstance.
John Marshall’s tenure as Chief Justice was so foundational to the role of the Supreme Court in the American system of government that it’s easy to overlook the remarkable serendipities that made it possible. I’ll address three of them here: Oliver Ellsworth’s kidney stones, John Jay’s rejection of his commission, and Timothy Pickering’s sabotage of Adams.
I invite you to sign up for Confirmation Tales.