Landmark Supreme Court Case · Federalism and national power
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
- Decided
- 1819
- Vote
- 7–0
- Opinion
- Chief Justice John Marshall
- Constitutional provisions
Facts of the case
Congress chartered the Second Bank of the United States in 1816. Maryland passed a tax on banks not chartered by the state, which in practice targeted the national bank's Baltimore branch. James McCulloch, the branch's cashier, refused to pay.
The constitutional question
Did Congress have the power to create a national bank, and could a state tax it?
The decision
Yes, Congress could create the bank, and no, Maryland could not tax it. The Constitution does not list a power to charter a bank, but the Necessary and Proper Clause gives Congress implied powers to carry out its enumerated powers (taxing, borrowing, regulating commerce, supporting armies). Under the Supremacy Clause, states may not interfere with legitimate federal operations.
The Court's reasoning
"Necessary" means useful or appropriate, not absolutely indispensable. Marshall wrote: "Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited, but consist with the letter and spirit of the constitution, are constitutional." A state tax on the bank could destroy it, defeating federal supremacy.
Why it matters
It greatly expanded federal power through implied powers and confirmed national supremacy over the states. It remains the foundation for broad readings of congressional power.
In the Court's words
the power to tax involves the power to destroy
Chief Justice John Marshall, majority opinion