Which of the following best supported the national governments perspective in the court case McCulloch versus Maryland?

“Although, among the enumerated powers of government, we do not find the word ‘bank’ or ‘incorporation,’ we find the great powers to lay and collect taxes; to borrow money; to regulate commerce; to declare and conduct a war; and to raise and support armies and navies . . . But it may with great reason be contended, that a government, entrusted with such ample powers . . . must also be entrusted with ample means for their execution. The power being given, it is the interest of the nation to facilitate its execution.”


This case explores the legal concepts of federalism, national supremacy, and the Necessary and Proper Clause.

The United States government created the first national bank for the country in 1791, but its charter lapsed under President Jefferson. During James Madison’s presidency, the Second Bank of the United States was chartered. The national bank was controversial due to competition with state banks, corruption, and the perception that the federal government was becoming too powerful. Maryland attempted to close the Baltimore branch of the national bank by passing a tax on all banks created outside of the state. James McCulloch, the bank’s manager, refused to pay the tax. The state of Maryland sued McCulloch saying that Maryland had the power to tax any business in its state and that the Constitution did not give Congress the power to create a national bank. McCulloch was convicted and fined, but he appealed the decision. The U.S. Supreme Court determined that Congress has implied powers that allow it to create a national bank, even though the Constitution does not explicitly state that power, and that Maryland’s taxing of its branches was unconstitutional because it interfered with the working of the federal government.

Which of the following best supported the national governments perspective in the court case McCulloch versus Maryland?

A pro-Andrew Jackson political cartoon applauds the president's September 1833 order for the removal of federal deposits from the Bank of the United States. On the right, Jackson, cheered on by Major Jack Downing, holds aloft a scroll with the words "Order for the Removal of Public Money." To the left, the combined opposition to the president's move -- represented by Bank President Nicholas Biddle, Whig Senators Daniel Webster and Henry Clay, and the pro-Bank press -- are ridiculed.

Reproduction courtesy of the Library of Congress

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Which of the following best supported the national governments perspective in the court case McCulloch versus Maryland?

In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) the Supreme Court ruled that Congress had implied powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution to create the Second Bank of the United States and that the state of Maryland lacked the power to tax the Bank. Arguably Chief Justice John Marshall's finest opinion, McCulloch not only gave Congress broad discretionary power to implement the enumerated powers, but also repudiated, in ringing language, the radical states' rights arguments presented by counsel for Maryland.

At issue in the case was the constitutionality of the act of Congress chartering the Second Bank of the United States (BUS) in 1816. Although the Bank was controlled by private stockholders, it was the depository of federal funds. In addition, it had the authority to issue notes that, along with the notes of states' banks, circulated as legal tender. In return for its privileged position, the Bank agreed to loan the federal government money in lieu of taxes. State banks looked on the BUS as a competitor and resented its privileged position. When state banks began to fail in the depression of 1818, they blamed their troubles on the Bank. One such state was Maryland, which imposed a hefty tax on "any bank not chartered within the state." The Bank of the United States was the only bank not chartered within the state. When the Bank's Baltimore branch refused to pay the tax, Maryland sued James McCulloch, cashier of the branch, for collection of the debt. McCulloch responded that the tax was unconstitutional. A state court ruled for Maryland, and the court of appeals affirmed. McCulloch appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which reviewed the case in 1819.

In a unanimous opinion written by Chief Justice Marshall, the Court ruled that the Bank of the United States was constitutional and that the Maryland tax was unconstitutional. Concerning the power of Congress to charter a bank, the Court turned to the Necessary and Proper Clause of Article I, Section 8, which expressly grants Congress the power to pass laws "necessary and proper" for the execution of its "enumerated powers." The enumerated powers of Congress include the power to regulate interstate commerce, collect taxes, and borrow money. Said the Court famously, "let the ends be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adopted to that end, which are not prohibited, but consist with the letter and spirit of the constitution, are constitutional." In other words, because the creation of the Bank was appropriately related to Congress's legitimate power to tax, borrow, and regulate interstate commerce, the Bank was constitutional under the Necessary and Proper Clause.

Second, the Court ruled that Maryland lacked the power to tax the Bank because, pursuant to the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the Constitution, the laws of the United States trump conflicting state laws. As Marshall put it, "the government of the Union, though limited in its powers, is supreme within its sphere of action, and its laws, when made in pursuance of the constitution, form the supreme law of the land." Because "the power to tax is the power to destroy," Maryland was unconstitutionally undermining the superior laws and institutions of the United States.

Finally, the Court held that the "sovereignty" (political authority) of the Union lies with the people of the United States, not with the individual states that comprise it. The United States, not a simple alliance of states, is a nation of "constitutional sovereignty" with its authority resting exclusively with "the people" who created and are governed by the Constitution. To the Court, "the government of the Union is a government of the people; it emanates from them; its powers are granted by them; and are to be exercised directly on them, and for their benefit." Maryland's tax, however, violated constitutional sovereignty because it acted as a levy against all the people in the United States by a state accountable to only some of the people.

If Marbury v. Madison (1803) "promised" that the Supreme Court would exercise great authority in shaping the laws of the land, McCulloch v. Maryland fulfilled that promise for the first time. Arguably no other decision has so profoundly defined national power. In one case, the Court expanded Congress' powers to include those implied by the Constitution, established the inferior status of the states in relation to the Union, and set the constitutional sovereignty of the federal government. McCulloch remains today a fundamental and binding bedrock of American constitutional law.

Which of the following best supported the national governments perspective in the court case McCulloch versus Maryland?
Which of the following best supported the national governments perspective in the court case McCulloch versus Maryland?
AUTHOR'S BIO
Which of the following best supported the national governments perspective in the court case McCulloch versus Maryland?
Which of the following best supported the national governments perspective in the court case McCulloch versus Maryland?
Which of the following best supported the national governments perspective in the court case McCulloch versus Maryland?
Alex McBride is a third year law student at Tulane Law School in New Orleans. He is articles editor on the TULANE LAW REVIEW and the 2005 recipient of the Ray Forrester Award in Constitutional Law. In 2007, Alex will be clerking with Judge Susan Braden on the United States Court of Federal Claims in Washington.
Which of the following best supported the national governments perspective in the court case McCulloch versus Maryland?
Which of the following best supported the national governments perspective in the court case McCulloch versus Maryland?
Which of the following best supported the national governments perspective in the court case McCulloch versus Maryland?
Which of the following best supported the national governments perspective in the court case McCulloch versus Maryland?
Which of the following best supported the national governments perspective in the court case McCulloch versus Maryland?
Which of the following best supported the national governments perspective in the court case McCulloch versus Maryland?
Which of the following best supported the national governments perspective in the court case McCulloch versus Maryland?

What does McCulloch v. Maryland say about the relationship between states and the national government?

Second, federalism is a system of shared power between state governments and the national government, but the decision in McCulloch v. Maryland established and reaffirmed the fact that the United States has a strong central government and that federal law has authority over state law.

What part of the Constitution supported the McCulloch v. Maryland decision?

In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) the Supreme Court ruled that Congress had implied powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution to create the Second Bank of the United States and that the state of Maryland lacked the power to tax the Bank.

What was the opinion of the court for McCulloch v. Maryland?

The court decided that the Federal Government had the right and power to set up a Federal bank and that states did not have the power to tax the Federal Government. Marshall ruled in favor of the Federal Government and concluded, “the power to tax involves the power to destroy."

What impact did McCulloch v. Maryland have on the power of the national govt?

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) is one of the first and most important Supreme Court cases on federal power. In this case, the Supreme Court held that Congress has implied powers derived from those listed in Article I, Section 8. The “Necessary and Proper” Clause gave Congress the power to establish a national bank.