Historical Supreme Courts--Abortion, Episode 1: Marshall's Measure: How John Marshall Would Have Handled Roe and Dobbs

This episode explores how Chief Justice John Marshalls constitutional philosophy would have reacted to Roe v. Wade and Dobbs v. Jackson, contrasting early 19th-century views of federal power with modern debates over substantive rights.

It explains Marshalls emphasis on institutional legitimacy, flexible interpretation, and state authority over moral issues, and argues he would reject both Roes creative privacy doctrine and Dobbss rigid historical test while warning against doctrinal instability.