Introduction

Another way to test the imperial ambition thesis is to apply it to a high-quality, contemporary work of legal history. That technique helps determine the proposition's current influence, its ability to illuminate preexisting scholarship, and its capacity to coexist with the other work's insights. This chapter examines the legal beliefs of the 1815-1835 period to explore the Marshall Court's internal culture, modes of reasoning, forms of rhetoric, and technical legal doctrine. Residing in the same boarding-house, the seven Justices casually resolved their differences until they could delegate the writing of their ultimate, usually unanimous decision to one Justice, normally Chief Justice John Marshall in important constitutional law cases. For it was Hamilton, inspired by the British Empire's successful example and David Hume's observations about political economy, who foresaw a strong national republic, dominated by a powerful Executive, but heavily dependent upon and supported by concentrated private power.