Question

How did john marshall's supreme court promote the spirit of nationalism and counter growing sectionalism through its rulings in favor of federal power?

Answer 1

McCulloch v Maryland set up federal supremacy by stopping a state bank from taxing the federal bank. It solidified the power of the central government over the state government. Dartmouth v Woodward said that the states couldn't invalidate individual contracts, it decreased the states' power. Gibbons v Ogden clarified the "commerce clause" in the Constitution by giving the federal government the power to regulate interstate navigation. All the decisions emphasized the power of the federal government and the decline of some states' rights. They helped consolidate and change the nation from a union of states to a single nation.