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About the Book
John Marshall's contemporaries believed him to be, if not the equal of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, at least very close to that pantheon.
John Marshall: The Final Founder demonstrates that not only can Marshall be considered one of those Founding Fathers, but as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court he helped hold the Union together. It advocates a change in the view of when the “founding” of the United States ended. Instead of marking that transition at the signing of the Constitution or the beginning of George Washington's presidency, The Final Founder pushes that date forward to the peaceful change of power from Federalist to Democrat-Republican and, especially, Marshall’s singular achievement -- to make the Court truly Supreme.
About the Author
Robert Strauss has been a reporter at Sports Illustrated; a feature writer for the Philadelphia Daily News; a news and sports producer for KYW-TV, then the NBC affiliate in Philadelphia, and the TV critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Asbury Park Press. For the last two decades, he has been a freelance journalist, his most prominent client being the New York Times, where he has had more than 1000 by-lines. He has taught non-fiction writing at the University of Pennsylvania since 1999 and been an adjunct professor at Temple University, the University of Delaware, and St. Joseph’s University as well. He is the author of Worst. President. Ever. among other books. He lives in Haddonfield, New Jersey.
About the Special Guests
Kevin Walsh
University of Richmond Law School Professor Kevin C. Walsh teaches and writes in the areas of federal jurisdiction and constitutional law and is the President of the John Marshall Center for Constitutional History & Civics. His scholarship focuses on doctrines that define the scope of federal judicial power, and has appeared in the Stanford Law Review, New York University Law Review, the University of Chicago Law Review, and the Notre Dame Law Review. Prior to joining the Richmond Law faculty in 2009, Professor Walsh was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Villanova University School of Law and clerked for Associate Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court of the United States and for Judge Paul V. Niemeyer of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Jennifer Hurst-Wender
Jennifer Hurst-Wender joined Preservation Virginia in 2008 and in 2013 was named Director of Museum Operations and Education. She oversees the interpretation, preservation and general operational details of Preservation Virginia’s portfolio of nine properties, six of which are open to the public. They include Patrick Henry’s Scotchtown, the John Marshall House, Bacon’s Castle, Smith’s Fort, Historic Jamestowne and Cape Henry Lighthouse.
Digital Book Talks
The Washington Library's Digital Book Talk series features live conversations with leading historians and scholars of early America. Please join us for fascinating discussions about the past and for your opportunity to ask our guests questions about their work.