This study draws on critical historical analysis and contemporary language theory to illuminate John Marshall’s jurisprudence and political philosophy in new ways. It challenges both liberal and conservative views and it defines Marshall’s constitutional interpretations, political ideology, and pragmatic interests anew. It shows how his pragmatism and republican revisionism impacted decisions about matters of property, contract, and debt. Legal scholars, political scientists, and historians interested in law and language, 19th-century history, and republicanism will find this study especially interesting.