McCulloch V. Maryland - A Landmark Case

Head cashier of the Baltimore branch of the Second Bank of the U.S.

Levied a tax on all banks not chartered in the State. The U.S. Bank is the only bank this applies to.

Refused to pay tax

The Md. court convicted McCulloch.

The U.S. appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The case was decided in 1819.

- Is it constitutional for the US congress to create a Bank? - Does the Maryland law unconstitutionally interfere with the powers of Congress?

McCulloch and the U.S. government

Constitution did not give Fed. Gov't power to establish a nat'l bank. That power was reserved to states. States are sovereign and may tax any bank within its borders.

Congress acts under explicit and implied powers. Explicit power to tax, borrow, and spend implies implicit power to create a US bank "Necessary and Proper" gives Congress right to do what is needed to carry out explicit powers.

And since "the power to tax is the power to destroy" and an inferior cannot destroy a superior power. Maryland's tax is unconstitutional.

Constitutional

The supremacy of federal law over state law