McCulloch v. Maryland

McCulloch v. Maryland is an 1819 decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that established two foundational principles of American constitutional law: that Congress possesses implied powers not explicitly enumerated in the Constitution so long as they are necessary and proper to carry out its enumerated powers, and that state governments may not tax federal instrumentalities operating within their borders. The case arose when the state of Maryland attempted to impose a tax on the Baltimore branch of the Second Bank of the United States, and James McCulloch, a cashier at the bank, refused to pay it. Chief Justice John Marshall, writing for a unanimous Court, upheld Congress's authority to charter the national bank under the Necessary and Proper Clause, articulating the enduring principle that the Constitution's grant of power to Congress should be construed broadly to permit legitimate ends pursued through appropriate means. Marshall further held that Maryland's tax was unconstitutional because the power to tax involves the power to destroy, and a state could not be permitted to tax an instrument of the federal government created to carry out constitutionally granted powers. McCulloch v. Maryland remains one of the most influential decisions in the history of American constitutional federalism.