>From 1782 until the adoption of the Constitution,Marshall was
almost continuously a member of the Virginia Legislature. He
thus became a witness of that course of policy which throughout
this period daily rendered the state governments more and more
"the hope of their enemies, the despair of their friends." The
termination of hostilities against England had relaxed the
already feeble bonds connecting the States. Congress had powers
which were only recommendatory, and its recommendations were
ignored by the local legislatures. The army, unpaid and
frequently in actual distress, was so rapidly losing its morale
that it might easily become a prey to demagogues. The treaties of
the new nation were flouted by every State in the Union. Tariff
wars and conflicting land grants embittered the relations of
sister
States. The foreign trade of the country, it was asserted, "was
regulated, taxed, monopolized, and crippled at the pleasure of
the
maritime powers of Europe." Burdened with debts which were the
legacy of an era of speculation, a considerable part of the
population, especially of the farmer class, was demanding
measures
of relief which threatened the security of contracts. "Laws
suspending the collection of debts, insolvent laws, instalment
laws, tender laws, and other expedients of a like nature, were
familiarly adopted or openly and boldly vindicated.*

* This review of conditions under the later Confederation is
taken from Story's "Discourse," which is in turn based, at this
point, on Marshall's "Life of Washington" and certain letters of
his to Story.