Maryland required the Supreme Court to interpret two essential clauses of the U.S. Constitution. The Necessary and Proper Clause set forth in Article 1, Section 8, states: The Congress shall have Power … To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers,...
McCulloch v. Maryland required the Supreme Court to interpret two essential clauses of the U.S. Constitution. The Necessary and Proper Clause set forth in Article 1, Section 8, states:
In a decision that continues to resonate today, the unanimous Court held that the Congress was authorized to establish the Bank of the United States and that the Maryland tax was unconstitutional. Chief Justice John Marshall authored the Court’s opinion.
Because “the power to tax is the power to destroy,” the Court held that the state of Maryland had impermissibly interfered with the law of the land.
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.
Maryland is a landmark case in which the Supreme Court of the United States determined that the United States had the authority to establish a federal bank. Furthermore, the Court declared that no state had the right to impose a tax on the federal bank, ruling in favor of McCulloch, who refused to pay Maryland's tax.
Maryland (1819) is one of the most important Supreme Court cases regarding federal power. In a unanimous decision, the Court established that Congress had implied constitutional power to create a national bank and that individual states could not tax a federally chartered bank.
How might the decision in McCulloch v. Maryland make future Supreme Court decisions more complicated? The principle of the federal supremacy meant the Court would more often rule in favor of federal powers over those of individual states.
Maryland, what did the State of Maryland argue? Banks cannot be created by Congress. States can determine which institutions within its borders must pay taxes. A federal bank must pay taxes to the state in which it is located.
In McCulloch v. Maryland 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.
For McCulloch v. Maryland, there were two questions the Court was trying to answer: Did Congress have the authority to establish the bank under the Constitution? Did the Maryland law unconstitutionally interfere with congressional powers?
Marshall's Opinion On March 6, 1819, barely three days after the last oral argument in McCulloch v. Maryland, Chief Justice John Marshall announced the Supreme Court's unanimous decision. The court ruled in favor of the bank and against the right of the states to tax it.
McCulloch v. Maryland required the Supreme Court to interpret two essential clauses of the U.S. Constitution. The Necessary and Proper Clause set forth in Article 1, Section 8, states: The Congress shall have Power …. To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, ...
Chief Justice Marshall wrote: 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.
To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof. The Supremacy Clause, which is found in Article 6, Clause 2, states:
In McCulloch v. Maryland , the U.S. Supreme Court held that Congress has broad discretionary authority to implement the powers enumerated in the Constitution under the Necessary and Proper Clause. McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 316 (1819) is regarded as one of Chief Justice John Marshall’s most influential opinions.
Maryland’s highest court ruled that the tax was valid, and McCulloch appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The issues before the justices were whether Congress had the power to establish a bank and whether the Maryland tax law violated the U.S. Constitution.
Because it was a depository of federal funds and authorized to issue notes, many states viewed the national bank as unfair competition and questioned its constitutionality. When state banks began to fail during the depression of 1818 , the State of Maryland passed a law that imposed taxes on all banks not chartered in the state.
The Supremacy Clause. The Court next turned to Maryland’s ability to tax the bank, ultimately finding that its actions violated the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the Constitution.
Can Congress act in ways that are not explicitly stated in the Constitution?
b.Is the federal government more powerful than state governments? and D.Can Congress claim powers that are not directly stated in the Constitution?