# 313 - 1903 $5 Marshall, dark green
Series of 1902-03 $5 Marshall
Quantity issued: 49,211
Printed by: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Method: Flat plate
Watermark: Double line
Perforation: 12
Color: Dark green
John Marshall – Longest-Serving Chief Justice
The eldest of fifteen children, John Marshall was born in a log cabin near Germantown, Virginia. Marshall joined the Continental Army in 1776, and spent the winter of 1777-78 at Valley Forge with General George Washington’s forces. He was promoted to captain in 1778. Although he had little formal education, Marshall studied law at the College of William and Mary and was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1780. He quickly established a career defending individuals against their pre-Revolutionary War British debtors.
Marshall believed that the Constitution was the supreme law of the land. As such, any law enacted by a branch of government must adhere to its principles or be struck down as unconstitutional. The Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Marbury vs. Madison, which determined that an action by a public official violated another’s constitutional rights, reflected this concept of judicial review. Judicial review, which is the practice of reviewing actions of government branches, firmly established the Supreme Court’s powers.
As a close friend of George Washington, Marshall announced his 1799 death, offered the eulogy at his funeral, and led the commission that planned the Washington Monument. At the request of Washington’s family, Marshall wrote a five-volume biography about our nation’s first President, The Life of George Washington. John Marshall died in 1835, ending the longest tenure of any Chief Justice in Supreme Court history.
Series of 1902-03 $5 Marshall
Quantity issued: 49,211
Printed by: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Method: Flat plate
Watermark: Double line
Perforation: 12
Color: Dark green
John Marshall – Longest-Serving Chief Justice
The eldest of fifteen children, John Marshall was born in a log cabin near Germantown, Virginia. Marshall joined the Continental Army in 1776, and spent the winter of 1777-78 at Valley Forge with General George Washington’s forces. He was promoted to captain in 1778. Although he had little formal education, Marshall studied law at the College of William and Mary and was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1780. He quickly established a career defending individuals against their pre-Revolutionary War British debtors.
Marshall believed that the Constitution was the supreme law of the land. As such, any law enacted by a branch of government must adhere to its principles or be struck down as unconstitutional. The Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Marbury vs. Madison, which determined that an action by a public official violated another’s constitutional rights, reflected this concept of judicial review. Judicial review, which is the practice of reviewing actions of government branches, firmly established the Supreme Court’s powers.
As a close friend of George Washington, Marshall announced his 1799 death, offered the eulogy at his funeral, and led the commission that planned the Washington Monument. At the request of Washington’s family, Marshall wrote a five-volume biography about our nation’s first President, The Life of George Washington. John Marshall died in 1835, ending the longest tenure of any Chief Justice in Supreme Court history.