Imagine John Roberts writing a fair and balanced biography of George W. When the author is a confidante, a political ally, or even a protégé, critics often dismiss the work as entirely suspect, politically motivated, replete with vendettas to launch and old scores to settle. When an objective biographer renders upon a president the judgment of history, critics usually question the author’s degree of access to their subject, cooperation among members of the president’s inner circle, and, more conspicuously, any hint of political bias. Published from 1804 through 1807 and sold by subscription, Marshall’s Life of Washington is a 3,200 page doorstop, more history than biography, and a work Thomas Jefferson privately considered “a five-volume libel”. Virginia patriot and jurist John Marshall wrote the first authorized biography of George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, first president of the United States and father of his country.
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