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On the evening of Friday, April 21, 120 Institute Associates, William and Mary Law School alumni and supporters, and other friends of William and Mary gathered in the Mike Mansfield Room of the United States Capitol to celebrate the publication of the twelfth and final volume of The Papers of John Marshall. The Omohundro Institute and William and Mary’s Marshall-Wythe School of Law hosted the reception.

The Capitol provided a fitting location in which to celebrate the completion of this important scholarly work, since the Supreme Court was located there until its present building was built in the 1930s. The Honorable John Warner, Virginia’s senior senator, and his former Chief of Staff and former College Rector, Susan Magill, made it possible for the event to take place in the Capitol. One of the evening’s highlights was the opportunity for guests to tour the Old Supreme Court Chamber, where Marshall presided for much of his tenure as Chief Justice. Richard Doerner, of the Office of the Curator of the Senate, was on hand to provide information about the room and the cases decided in it. Reception guests also heard remarks from Ronald Hoffman, director of the Institute; Lynda Butler, vice dean of the Marshall-Wythe School of Law and Chancellor Professor of Law; and Charles Hobson, editor of the Marshall Papers.

Mr. Hobson, who has edited the Marshall Papers since 1979, was joined at the reception by Managing Editor Joan S. Lovelace, a member of the project since 2000. A number of former Marshall Papers staff members attended the event, including Charles Cullen, Susan Perdue, and Fredrika J. Teute. Special guests included several West Coast descendants of John Marshall, and Max Evans, executive director of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, a key sponsor of the project.

The 600-page final volume, which captures the four years of Marshall’slife preceding his death in July 1835, is the last installment of a project that began in 1960, under the direction of Stephen G. Kurtz. Funded by William and Mary, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, as well as through private donations from individuals and foundations, the twelve-volume set includes nearly 6,700 pages and approximately 2,700 Marshall documents. All the volumes have been published for the Omohundro Institute by the University of North Carolina Press.