McCulloch v. Maryland
Citation: 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 316 (U.S. Supreme Court, 1819)
Facts
Congress chartered the Second Bank of the United States. Maryland imposed a tax on the Bank’s operations within the state, and James McCulloch, the Bank’s cashier, refused to pay. Maryland argued Congress had no power to charter a bank (no such power being enumerated) and that states could tax federal instrumentalities operating within their borders.
Issue
(1) Does Congress have the power to incorporate a national bank? (2) May a state tax a federal instrumentality?
Holding
The Court unanimously held that Congress has the implied power to charter a bank under the Necessary and Proper Clause, and that Maryland’s tax on the Bank was unconstitutional under the Supremacy Clause.
Rule
The Necessary and Proper Clause grants Congress broad discretion to choose any means that is rationally related to an enumerated end (“let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the Constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end…are constitutional”). Federal law is supreme, and states may not tax or burden federal instrumentalities.
Significance
McCulloch establishes the doctrine of implied powers and provides the textual and structural foundation for the expansive reading of congressional authority that has persisted ever since. Chief Justice Marshall’s opinion also articulates the Supremacy Clause principle that the federal government, though limited, is supreme within its sphere — foreclosing state interference with federal operations.