McCulloch v Maryland
Facts of the Case In 1819 the United States had a federal bank, the Bank of the United States. The state of Maryland taxed every person that did business with banks out of the state. Also they decided to tax the federal bank to impede their operation. They prohibited the issuing of all bank notes except the ones issued by the state. There were fees and penalties established if this regulation was violated. James McCulloch was a cashier that worked in the Baltimore branch of the federal bank. He refused to pay this tax because he claimed that the state government had no right to tax the federal government. As a result, the state of Maryland sued and the Supreme Court accepted the case. Lower Court Verdict The
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They argued that as a sovereign state they could tax and control business inside their borders. Also they claimed that taxing banks was necessary to control and prevent any possible financial abuses. Furthermore, they argued that if the federal government had regulations on state banks Maryland could have regulations on the federal banks. Lastly, they argued that there was no authority included in the Constitution to charter a national bank, causing the Bank of the United States to be unconstitutional. Maryland imposed a tax on all the banks not chartered by the state. Its aim was to destroy and impede the operation of the Bank of the United States in Baltimore. This law was specifically targeted at the National Bank because it was the only out of state bank existing in Maryland at the …show more content…
Chief Justice John Marshall wrote the majority decision on March 6, 1819. The justices who voted in the decision were: Bushrod Washington, William Johnson, Henry B. Livingston, Thomas Todd, Gabriel Duvall, Joseph Story and John Marshall. The Supreme Court ruled that the government had the right to establish a federal bank in Maryland and the state did not have the power to tax the bank. Marshall ruled in favor of McCulloch stating that the Constitution gives the government power to create any law that is "necessary and proper". This is known as the necessary and proper clause, which allows Congress to have powers that are not enumerated in the Constitution. In regards to Maryland's argument of state sovereignty, Chief Justice Marshall argued that the Constitution is "an instrument of the people". Although, it was ratified by the state conventions it is for the people, not the states. Lastly, Marshall stated that "the power to tax involves the power to destroy", which was a direct attack to the federal government. There were no concurrent opinions written for this