Power Of The Federal Government In The 19th Century

674 Words3 Pages

As the country started to grow, the power of the Federal Government had also started to grow. The power that the Federal Government had, started to create conflict between the States ' and the Federal Government. By the 19th century, cases started to appear more frequently that challenged States ' rights against the National Government. Around the early 1800s, the major national concern was finical stability. The charter of the Bank of the United States had expired in 1811 and the Democratic-Republican Madison administration and the Republican Congress had failed to renew it. The War of 1812 had affected the nation 's economy, which caused many banks throughout the nation to weaken and eventually shut down. Congress had granted a charter to the Second Bank of the United States in 1816 and supplied one-fifth of its capital of 35 million dollars. Local bankers, farmers, politicians had viewed the bank as an image of power which caused the people disfavor the bank. Many of the States were disappointed with the new Second Bank of the United States. Out of all the States, one particular state that was unhappy was Maryland. Before a single form of currency was established, local banks were allowed to make loans that were issued by their own bank notes. The local banks did not have to use gold and …show more content…

The Supreme Court case McCulloch v Maryland originally originated in Maryland when the Maryland legislature decided to levy a tax on all branches of the banks. It was aimed to destroy the Baltimore branch of the Bank of the United States. James McCulloch was a cashier at the Baltimore branch. He was issuing bank notes without complying with the Maryland law. Maryland had sued McCulloch for refusing to pay the taxes under the Maryland statute. He had to pay the $15,000 annual tax and refused. McCulloch was fined $2,500 when a Maryland court convicted him. He went to the Maryland Court of Appeals and failed there, and then he went to the United States Supreme Court in