The US Supreme Court ruling on the case McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) is one of the most important decisions in the history of US jurisprudence. The president of the Supreme Court at the time was John Marshall, former Secretary of State of US President John Adams.
The state of Maryland had tried to impede the running of a branch of the Second Bank of the United States (a bank founded to face the difficulties encountered by the administration of the 4th President of the United States of America, James Madison). Maryland demanded its unconstitutionality, as an expression of a government act not provided for by the constitution. He had previously imposed a prohibitive tax for the time on all banknotes not issued within the confines of the state.
James McCulloch, who held the highest authority for the Baltimore branch of the US Second Bank, refused to pay the tax. A lawsuit was initiated between the state and McCulloch, who was first presented before John James, and then before the Maryland Court of Appeals and then went to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court, after showing off the theory of Alexander Hamilton on the implicit powers that the Constitution gave to the Congress, affirmed the legitimacy of the federal government, its complete independence and its prevalence over the individual states. He then ruled that even if the Constitution did not officially foresee it, it fell within the powers entrusted by the government and all states could not impede its function.
