One of the most famous supreme court cases of all time took place in Maryland in 1818. The case was between James W. McCulloch vs. the state of Maryland. This was around the time that the big and small state plans were being determined and national and state laws were blurry in how much power each of them had. This case has to do with the powers of the national and state governments. It was the case that also had to do with the necessary and proper clause, and stated that national government has power of state and local governments.
The whole case began because of problems with a National Bank. In 1798, treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton chartered the United States first National Bank. However, the Republican congress had let the charter run out in 1811. In 1816 President Madison realized that had been a mistake, and convinced congress to charter a second bank.
English: Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President ...
Diagram of US Federal Government and American Unio...
Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitu...The charter was granted even though the bank was not a very popular institution. James W. McCulloch was the manager of the bank's branch office in Baltimore, Maryland. This was just one of 18 branches around the country. In 1818, the state of Maryland imposed an annual tax of $15,000 on the bank in an attempt to get rid of it. In Maryland, Mcculloch refused to pay. He said that the bank was controlled by the national government and the state was trying to tax it as if it were a state-chartered institution. A lot of lawsuits ensued, with the bank calling the tax unconstitutional and the state calling the bank illegal. This was the beginning of one of the supreme courts most extraordinary oral arguments in its history.
The issue went far beyond the bank to exactly what congress's powers were. There is nothing...