Question

how did the supreme court define the role of the federal government in Marbury v. Madison (1803) and McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)? Identify at least two examples in two sentences

Answer 1

Hi there!

Marbury v. Madison and McCulloch v. Maryland are some of the earliest examples of landmark cases in the history of the Supreme Court. Their decisions, which have had lasting impacts on the interpretation of the Constitution, are vital to todays understanding of the federal government.

Marbury v. Madison established the policy of judicial review. Judicial review holds that the court has the power to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional should it be inconsistent with the Constitution. This put a sizable check on the power of Congress to pass laws and established the power of the court in the new government.

McCulloch v. Maryland established that when it comes to clashes between state laws and federal laws, federal laws will always trump state laws except for a few rare exceptions. This reaffirmed the power of the new national government and the broad sweeping power it had over the states.

Answer 2

In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) the Supreme Court ruled that Congress had implied powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution to create the Second Bank of the United States and that the state of Maryland lacked the power to tax the Bank. Arguably Chief Justice John Marshall's finest opinion, McCulloch not only gave Congress broad discretionary power to implement the enumerated powers, but also repudiated, in ringing language, the radical states' rights arguments presented by counsel for Maryland.

At issue in the case was the constitutionality of the act of Congress chartering the Second Bank of the United States (BUS) in 1816. Although the Bank was controlled by private stockholders, it was the depository of federal funds. In addition, it had the authority to issue notes that, along with the notes of states' banks, circulated as legal tender. In return for its privileged position, the Bank agreed to loan the federal government money in lieu of taxes. State banks looked on the BUS as a competitor and resented its privileged position. When state banks began to fail in the depression of 1818, they blamed their troubles on the Bank. One such state was Maryland, which imposed a hefty tax on "any bank not chartered within the state." The Bank of the United States was the only bank not chartered within the state. When the Bank's Baltimore branch refused to pay the tax, Maryland sued James McCulloch, cashier of the branch, for collection of the debt. McCulloch responded that the tax was unconstitutional. A state court ruled for Maryland, and the court of appeals affirmed. McCulloch appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which reviewed the case in 1819.