Citation: 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 316 (1819) · Court: Marshall Court · Vote: Unanimous
Holding
Congress has implied powers beyond those explicitly listed in the Constitution, drawn from the Necessary and Proper Clause; and states may not tax or interfere with legitimate exercises of federal power.Background
Congress chartered the Second Bank of the United States. Maryland tried to tax the Bank’s Baltimore branch, and cashier James McCulloch refused to pay. Two questions reached the Court: could Congress create a national bank, and could a state tax it?The Decision
Chief Justice John Marshall answered yes to the first and no to the second. Although the Constitution does not mention a national bank, the Necessary and Proper Clause (Article I, Section 8) permits Congress to choose reasonable means to carry out its enumerated powers.“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.”Because “the power to tax involves the power to destroy,” Maryland could not tax the federal Bank without undermining federal supremacy.