Government and politics concepts · AP U.S. Government and Politics, AP U.S. History
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819): The Supreme Court case that upheld Congress's implied power to create a national bank and barred states from taxing it.
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What it means
Maryland taxed the Second Bank of the United States, and the bank's cashier, James McCulloch, refused to pay. The Court ruled that the necessary and proper clause allowed Congress to create the bank, and that under the supremacy clause a state could not tax a federal institution, since 'the power to tax involves the power to destroy.'
The decision strengthened national power relative to the states.
Example
McCulloch is the precedent for broad congressional implied powers and federal supremacy over conflicting state actions.
On the exam
McCulloch v. Maryland is a required case, central to Unit 1 federalism questions.