JOHN MARSHALL may be the greatest and most influential of all early American leaders not to have become president. He had lots of competition for that title, of course--Patrick Henry, Ben Franklin and other pioneers in American democracy.

Marshall never sought the Oval Office job, but as chief justice of the Supreme Court he set the direction for the government we have today with its three independent centers of power.

It seems appropriate to mention this today, July Fourth, when we are supposed to commemorate something more than hot dogs, beer and a fireworks blast.

The last time that I mentioned the man who put his stamp so clearly on our courts and Constitution, I got an e-mail from a gentleman representing the John Marshall House in Richmond, suggesting I drive down for a visit.

The handsome home Marshall built in Richmond's Court End was the largest in the city when he and wife Mary Willis Ambler Marshall moved in, in 1790. Today it is the oldest brick home in Richmond, according to guide Bob Swisher.

But while the Marshall House remains an appealing and well-preserved historic structure and a window into a vitally important time in our history, its once-grand stature has been marred by all the high-rise buildings surrounding it today. Too bad Richmond's City Council couldn't have used a little discretion here.

INFLUENTIAL FIGURE

Marshall is justly remembered for his key role in shaping the Supreme Court and giving it the role it plays today.

But he was one of the most remarkable men in American history, playing dozens of roles in the shaping of Virginia's capital city, the state and his country.

He should be well remembered today--and July Fourth in particular--as a young officer in George Washington's Continental Army who fought the British at Germantown, Brandywine and Monmouth and endured the legendary fierce winter with that ragtag army at Valley Forge.

John Marshall served in the Virginia House of Delegates, as well as in the U.S. Congress. He was on the committee to ratify the proposed U.S. Constitution, which almost surely helped form his views on the need for a strong federal system of government.