Heroic Era.

The period from 1815 to 1850 is often called the golden age of American law. The famous names of the era illustrate its centrality in American legal history and help explain the importance the bench and bar assumed during these years. John Marshall, chief justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1801 until 1835; his successor, Roger B. Taney, who served as chief justice until 1864; and Joseph Story, an associate justice from 1811 until 1845, rank among the dozen most important justices in the history of the Supreme Court; William Johnson, an associate justice from 1804 until 1834, is one of the most noteworthy figures in the second echelon. Even more striking is the honor roll of statecourt judges, including James Kent of New York, Lemuel Shaw of Massachusetts, Thomas Ruffin of North Carolina, and John Bannister Gibson of Pennsylvania. More state-court judges earned lasting national reputations between 1815 and 1850 than in the rest...