In effect John Marshall thus rewrote the fundamental law of the Nation; or, perhaps it may be more accurate to say that he made a written instrument a living thing, capable of growth, capable of keeping pace with the advancement of the American people and ministering to their changing necessities.
He praises John Marshall for transforming the Constitution into a dynamic document that evolves with society's needs.
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He has raised the American people in their own esteem, and, if the influence of truth and justice, reason and argument is not lost in Europe, he has raised the consideration of the United States in that quarter of the world....
Indeed, he thought them only "an experiment on the American mind to see how far it will bear an avowed violation of the constitution.
The genius of the Constitution, and the opinions of the people of the United States, cannot be overruled by those who administer the Government.
The Virginians, on their part, found the giving of new notes a convenient way of canceling old obligations and thus piled up mountains of debt which they found hard to remove.
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