McCulloch v. Maryland

A detailed Summary of McCulloch v. Maryland

The case of McCulloch v. Maryland was brought to the United States Supreme Court in 1819. The decisions of Chief Justice John Marshall in this case would set precedence for all future cases involving the expansion of federal power and any impediment on federal powers by state governments.

The first Bank of the United States (BUS) was created in 1791 as part of Alexander Hamilton's financial plan. It was opposed by Jefferson, who claimed that Congress was not specifically given the right to charter a bank. Hamilton argued (along the lines of the elastic clause) that Congress had the power to do anything not specifically forbidden in the Constitution. President Washington agreed with Hamilton and the bank was given twenty-year charter (expiring in 1811). After the war of 1812, the Madison administration sought new national development. This proved difficult with the nations finances loosely organized by state chartered banks. Inflation, and a lack of regulated currency from the state banks, prompted Madison to sign a bill creating a second BUS in 1816. The new BUS imposed strict regulation of currency on the state banks and would not accept notes from banks that had overextended themselves

In answering the fist question, Marshall brought further understanding to what is meant by the implied powers of our government. The second question was more controversial. Marshall sought to prevent governments in separate states from conflicting. He also establishes the broad powers of the federal government as powers not to be disrupted by state governments. John Marshall's decisions were met with praise throughout the judicial system, and set example to the scope of our federal government's power.

Another controversy that erupts from the prosecution involves the definition of the word "necessary" in the "necessary and proper" clause. They began to interpolate exactly what the Constitution means by "necessary" and attempt to explain that creating a corporation such as a national bank is not necessary at all. Marshall examines the use of necessary in government and concludes that in this context it does not signify and "absolute-physical necessity, so strong that one thing, to which another may be termed necessary, cannot exist without the other." Instead, it is found that necessary is more synonymous with convenient in this context. He further explains that there are varying degrees of necessity, and the degree the

Some common words found in the essay are:
Congress Marshall, Justice Marshall, President Washington, Alexander Hamilton's, John Marshall's, John Marshall, James McCulloch, Supreme Court, McCulloch Maryland, United BUS, elastic clause, congress power, supreme court, chief justice, bus exist, currency banks, congress chartering, counsel maryland, bank marshall, mcculloch maryland,

Approximate Word count = 832
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

join now Save Paper

Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

"Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
Jack M.
"With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
Brian P.
"I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
Sara J.
"I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
Rachel W.
"I love this site!!!"
Marie N.

McCulloch v. Maryland

Related Essays

Professional Essays

Saved Paper

Newest Essays

Testimonials