McCulloch v. Maryland

Facts of the Case

-1816 Congress established the Second Bank of the United States (including a branch in Baltimore Maryland)

-The Maryland legislature did not like this so they passed a law stating that an bank in Maryland that was not charted by Maryland would have to pay a $15,000 a year tax

-James McCulloch (a member of the Second National Bank branch in Baltimore) saw that this was unjust and refused to pay it, leading to the case being brought forward to the Supreme Court

Constitutional Principle at stake

-Maryland argued that the establishment of a national bank was unconstitutional because Article 1 Section 8 did not state that Congress had the power to create a bank

-McCulloch’s lawyers argued that it was Constitutional because Article 1 Section included the necessary and proper clause

Decision

-6-0 unanimous to McCulloch

-Chief Justice John Marshall argued that the bank was Constitutional on account of the authority of the necessary and proper clause

-if the power is not prohibited by the Constitution and the law in question upholds the spirit of the Constitution then it stands

-this case established the supremacy of of national laws over state laws

Why it Matters?

-it set the precedent for other cases to go back to when discussing the balance of power between state and federal government (federalism)