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140-653: The Congress shall have Power... To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof. Since the landmark decision McCulloch v. Maryland , the US Supreme Court has ruled that this clause grants implied powers to US Congress in addition to its enumerated powers . According to

280-529: A federal issue was involved. Marshall recused himself from the case because it stemmed from a dispute over Lord Fairfax's former lands, which Marshall had a financial interest in. In Dartmouth College v. Woodward , the Court held that the protections of the Contract Clause apply to private corporations . In Ogden v. Saunders , Marshall dissented in part and "assented" in part, and the Court upheld

420-408: A 5-to-2 majority on the Court, but Marshall retained ideological and personal leadership of the Court. Marshall regularly curbed his own viewpoints, preferring to arrive at decisions by consensus. Only once did he find himself on the losing side in a constitutional case. In that case— Ogden v. Saunders in 1827—Marshall set forth his general principles of constitutional interpretation: To say that

560-802: A case involving the validity of a Virginia law that provided for the confiscation of debts owed to British subjects. Marshall argued that the law was a legitimate exercise of the state's power, but the Supreme Court ruled against him, holding that the Treaty of Paris in combination with the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution required the collection, rather than confiscation, of such debts. According to biographer Henry Flanders, Marshall's argument in Ware v. Hylton "elicited great admiration at

700-509: A court order. Historians mostly agree that the framers of the Constitution did plan for the Supreme Court to have some sort of judicial review, but Marshall made their goals operational. Though many Democratic-Republicans expected a constitutional crisis to arise after the Supreme Court asserted its power of judicial review, the Court upheld the repeal of the Midnight Judges Act in the 1803 case of Stuart v. Laird . In 1804,

840-629: A decentralized government that focused on states' rights formed the Democratic-Republican Party . The First Bank's charter expired in 1811 and was not renewed. However, national economic problems in the aftermath of the War of 1812 prompted Congress to pass similar legislation in 1816 to create the Second Bank of the United States . The U.S. government only owned 20 percent of the bank's equity, and many state governments resented

980-467: A decision come before it, to say that such an act was not the law of the land." As Marshall put it, the Necessary and Proper Clause "purport[s] to enlarge, not to diminish the powers vested in the government. It purports to be an additional power, not a restriction on those already granted." Without that clause, there would have been a dispute about whether the express powers imply incidental powers, but

1120-634: A federal court order. Congress established a lottery in the District of Columbia in 1812, and in 1820 two individuals were convicted in Virginia for violating a state law that prohibited selling out-of-state lottery tickets. The defendants, Philip and Mendes Cohen, appealed to the Supreme Court. The Court's subsequent decision in the 1821 case of Cohens v. Virginia established that the Supreme Court could hear appeals from state courts in criminal lawsuits. The Court held that, because Virginia had brought

1260-586: A federal judge. Marshall was a first cousin of U.S. Senator (Ky) Humphrey Marshall and first cousin, three times removed, of General of the Army George C. Marshall . He was also a distant cousin of Thomas Jefferson . From a young age, Marshall was noted for his good humor and black eyes, which were "strong and penetrating, beaming with intelligence and good nature". With the exception of one year of formal schooling, during which time he befriended future president James Monroe , Marshall did not receive

1400-416: A federal license to operate steamboats in the waters of any state. In response, Ogden won a judgment in state court that ordered Gibbons to cease operations in the state. Gibbons appealed to the Supreme Court, which heard the case of Gibbons v. Ogden in 1824. Representing Gibbons, Congressman Daniel Webster and Attorney General William Wirt (acting in a non-governmental capacity) argued that Congress had

1540-489: A federal statute making it a crime for a farmer to produce more wheat than was allowed under price and production controls, even if the excess production was for the farmer's own personal consumption. The Necessary and Proper Clause was used to justify the regulation of production and consumption. Also, in addition to both clauses being used to uphold federal laws that affect economic activity, they also were used to justify federal criminal laws as well. For example, Congress in

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1680-727: A formal education. Encouraged by his parents, the young Marshall read widely, including such works as William Blackstone 's Commentaries on the Laws of England and Alexander Pope 's An Essay on Man . He was also tutored by the Reverend James Thomson, a recently ordained deacon from Glasgow, Scotland , who resided with the Marshall family in return for his room and board. Marshall was especially influenced by his father, of whom he wrote, "to his care I am indebted for anything valuable which I may have acquired in my youth. He

1820-543: A granted power. ... The individual mandate, by contrast, vests Congress with the extraordinary ability to create the necessary predicate to the exercise of an enumerated power and draw within its regulatory scope those who would otherwise lie outside it. Even if the individual mandate is 'necessary' to the Affordable Care Act's other reforms, such an expansion of federal power is not a 'proper' means for making those reforms effective." According to its proponents,

1960-574: A now-seemingly cruel choice of accepting manumission on the condition of emigrating to another state or to Africa (at age 78 and leaving his still-enslaved daughter Agnes) or choosing his master/mistress from among Marshall's children. Early in his career, during the 1790s, Marshall represented slaves pro bono in a few cases, often trying to win the freedom of mixed-race individuals. In possibly his most famous anti-slavery case, Marshall represented Robert Pleasants , who sought to carry out his father's will and emancipate about ninety slaves; Marshall won

2100-649: A resolution demanding that the administration reveal the contents of the correspondence. A public outcry ensued when the Adams administration revealed that Talleyrand's agents had demanded bribes; the incident became known as the XYZ Affair . In July 1798, shortly after Marshall's return, Congress imposed an embargo in France, marking the start of an undeclared naval war known as the Quasi-War . Marshall supported most of

2240-476: A single majority opinion that elucidated a clear rule. The 1803 case of Marbury v. Madison presented the first major case heard by the Marshall Court . In his opinion for the court, Marshall upheld the principle of judicial review , whereby courts could strike down federal and state laws if they conflicted with the Constitution. Marshall's holding avoided direct conflict with the executive branch, which

2380-488: A single vote. Under this rule, it turned out that neither party had a majority because some states had split delegations. Over the course of seven days, February 11–17, 1801, the House cast a total of 35 ballots, with Jefferson receiving the votes of eight state delegations each time, one short of the necessary majority of nine. On February 17, on the 36th ballot, Jefferson was elected as president. Burr became vice president. Had

2520-464: A speculative land company, which then resold much of that land to other speculators, termed "New Yazooists." After a public outcry over the sale, which was achieved through bribery, Georgia rescinded the sale and offered to refund the original purchase price to the New Yazooists. Many of the New Yazooists had paid far more than the original purchase price, and they rejected Georgia's revocation of

2660-507: A state law that allowed individuals to file bankruptcy . In his separate opinion, Marshall argued that the state bankruptcy law violated the Contract Clause. In Barron v. Baltimore , the Court held that the Bill of Rights was intended to apply only to the federal government, and not to the states. The courts have since incorporated most of the Bill of Rights with respect to the states through

2800-566: A strong executive, and a standing military. In 1795, Washington asked Marshall to accept appointment as the United States Attorney General , but Marshall again declined the offer. He did, however, serve in a variety of roles for the state of Virginia during the 1790s, at one point acting as the state's interim Attorney General. In 1796, Marshall appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States in Ware v. Hylton ,

2940-587: A tax on all notes of banks not chartered in Maryland. Though the law, by its language, was generally applicable to all banks not chartered in Maryland, the Second Bank of the United States was the only out-of-state bank then existing in Maryland, and the law was thus recognized in the court's opinion as having specifically targeted the Bank of the United States. The Court invoked the Necessary and Proper Clause of

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3080-493: A three-member commission to France that also included Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and Elbridge Gerry . The three envoys arrived in France in October 1797, but were granted only a fifteen-minute meeting with French Foreign Minister Talleyrand . After that meeting, the diplomats were met by three of Talleyrand's agents who refused to conduct diplomatic negotiations unless the United States paid enormous bribes to Talleyrand and to

3220-685: A wide array of domestic responsibilities, including the deliverance of commissions of federal appointments and supervision of the construction of Washington, D.C. In October 1800, the United States and France agreed to the Convention of 1800 , which ended the Quasi-War and reestablished commercial relations with France. With the Federalists divided between Hamilton and Adams, the Democratic-Republicans emerged victorious in

3360-406: Is supreme over the states, and so states' ability to interfere with the federal government is restricted. Since the legislature has the authority to tax and spend , the court held that it therefore has authority to establish a national bank, as being "necessary and proper" to that end. The state of Maryland had attempted to impede an operation by the Second Bank of the United States through

3500-401: Is a constitution we are expounding." Fourthly, Marshall supported his opinion textually by invoking the Necessary and Proper Clause, which permits Congress to seek an objective while it exercised its enumerated powers as long as that objective is not forbidden by the Constitution. In liberally interpreting the Necessary and Proper Clause, the Court rejected Maryland's narrow interpretation of

3640-409: Is all that can be necessary. While Marshall was attentive when listening to oral arguments and often persuaded other justices to adopt his interpretation of the law, he was not widely read in the law, and seldom cited precedents. After the Court came to a decision, he would usually write it up himself. Often he asked Justice Joseph Story , a renowned legal scholar and longtime friend of Marshall, to do

3780-486: Is listed within the powers of Congress, not its limitations. The Court held that the word "necessary" in the Necessary and Proper Clause does not refer therefore to the only way of doing something but applies to various procedures for implementing all constitutionally-established powers: "Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the Constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited, but consist with

3920-468: Is not forbidden by any particular provision of the Constitution, it may safely be deemed to come within the compass of the national authority. There is also this further criterion which may materially assist the decision: Does the proposed measure abridge a pre-existing right of any State, or of any individual? If it does not, there is a strong presumption in favour of its constitutionality. ... Chief Justice Marshall also determined that Maryland could not tax

4060-533: The Federalist Papers were read aloud in Congress: No axiom is more clearly established in law or in reason than wherever the end is required, the means are authorized; wherever a general power to do a thing is given, every particular power for doing it is included. Eventually, Southern opposition to the bank and to Hamilton's plan to have the federal government assume the war debts of the states

4200-485: The 1832 presidential election , and one of the presidential candidates, William Wirt, served as the attorney for the missionaries. On March 3, 1832, Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court in the case of Worcester v. Georgia . The Court's holding overturned the conviction and the state law, holding that the state of Georgia had improperly exercised control over the Cherokee. It is often reported that in response to

4340-635: The Articles of Confederation , "each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated" (emphasis added). Thus, the Continental Congress had no powers incidental to those "expressly delegated" by the Articles of Confederation. By contrast, the Necessary and Proper Clause expressly confers incidental powers upon Congress; no other clause in

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4480-566: The Australian states , owing in large part to strong similarities between the American and Australian constitutions. John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755 – July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, lawyer, and Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longest serving justice in

4620-751: The Continental Army . By July of 1778, Marshall had become a captain in the Continental Army. During the American Revolutionary War , he served in several battles, including the Battle of Brandywine , and endured the winter at Valley Forge . After he was furloughed in 1780, Marshall began attending the College of William and Mary . Marshall read law under the famous Chancellor George Wythe at William and Mary, and he

4760-539: The Council of State , becoming the youngest individual up to that point to serve on the council. In 1785, Marshall took up the additional office of Recorder of the Richmond City Hustings Court. Meanwhile, Marshall sought to build up his own legal practice, a difficult proposition during a time of economic recession. In 1786, he purchased the law practice of his cousin, Edmund Randolph , after

4900-549: The Democratic-Republican Party emerged as the country was polarized by issues such as the French Revolutionary Wars and the power of the presidency and the federal government. Marshall aligned with the Federalists, and at Alexander Hamilton 's request, he organized a Federalist movement in Virginia to counter the influence of Thomas Jefferson 's Democratic-Republicans. Like most other Federalists, Marshall favored neutrality in foreign affairs, high tariffs ,

5040-636: The Federal Kidnapping Act (1932) made it a federal crime to transport a kidnapped person across state lines because the transportation would be an act of interstate activity over which the Congress has power. It has also provided justification for a wide range of criminal laws relating to interference with the federal government's rightful operation, including federal laws against assaulting or murdering federal employees. In National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012),

5180-500: The Federalist Party in Congress. He was appointed secretary of state in 1800 after a cabinet shake-up, becoming an important figure in the Adams administration. In 1801, Adams appointed Marshall to the Supreme Court. Marshall quickly emerged as the key figure on the court, due in large part to his personal influence with the other justices. Under his leadership, the court moved away from seriatim opinions, instead issuing

5320-639: The Fourteenth Amendment , which was ratified decades after Marshall's death. After his appointment to the Supreme Court, Marshall began working on a biography of George Washington. He did so at the request of his close friend, Associate Justice Bushrod Washington , who had inherited the papers of his uncle. Marshall's The Life of George Washington , the first biography about a U.S. president ever published, spanned five volumes and just under one thousand pages. The first two volumes, published in 1804, were poorly received and seen by many as an attack on

5460-527: The New Deal were found to be necessary and proper enactments of the objective of regulating interstate commerce. The influence of the Necessary and Proper Clause and its broader interpretation under McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) in American jurisprudence can be seen in cases generally to be thought to involve simply the Commerce Clause. In Wickard v. Filburn (1942), the Supreme Court upheld

5600-400: The U.S. Constitution , and he played a major role in Virginia's ratification of that document. At the request of President Adams, Marshall traveled to France in 1797 to help bring an end to attacks on American shipping. In what became known as the XYZ Affair , the government of France refused to open negotiations unless the United States agreed to pay bribes. Upon his return from France, he led

5740-520: The Worcester decision President Andrew Jackson declared "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!" More reputable sources recognize this as a false quotation. Regardless, Jackson refused to enforce the decision, and Georgia refused to release the missionaries. The situation was finally resolved when the Jackson administration privately convinced Governor Wilson Lumpkin to pardon

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5880-495: The presidential election of 1800 . However, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr both received 73 electoral votes , throwing the election to the Federalist-controlled House of Representatives. Hamilton asked Marshall to support Jefferson, but Marshall declined to support either candidate. In the contingent election held to decide whether Jefferson or Burr would become president, each state delegation had

6020-538: The 1780s was a confederation of sovereign states with a weak national government that had little or no effective power to impose tariffs, regulate interstate commerce, or enforce laws. Influenced by Shays' Rebellion and the powerlessness of the Congress of the Confederation , Marshall came to believe in the necessity of a new governing structure that would replace the powerless national government established by

6160-498: The Articles of Confederation. He strongly favored ratification of the new constitution proposed by the Philadelphia Convention , as it provided for a much stronger federal government. Marshall was elected to the 1788 Virginia Ratifying Convention , where he worked with James Madison to convince other delegates to ratify the new constitution. After a long debate, proponents of ratification emerged victorious, as

6300-683: The Bank. Chief Justice Marshall supported his conclusion with four main arguments: Firstly, he argued that historical practice established Congress's power to create the bank. Marshall invoked the creation of the First Bank of the United States in 1791 as authority for the constitutionality of the second bank. The first Congress had enacted the bank after great debate, and it was approved by an executive "with as much persevering talent as any measure has ever experienced, and being supported by arguments which convinced minds as pure and as intelligent as this country can boast." Secondly, Marshall rebutted

6440-404: The Cherokee were arrested by the state of Georgia. The State did so on the basis of an 1830 state law that prohibited white men from living on Native American land without a state license. Among those arrested was Samuel Worcester , who, after being convicted of violating the state law, challenged the constitutionality of the law in federal court. The arrest of the missionaries became a key issue in

6580-491: The Cherokee. The Supreme Court heard the resulting case of Cherokee Nation v. Georgia in 1831. Writing for the Court, Marshall held that Native American tribes constituted "domestic dependent nations," a new legal status, but he dismissed the case on the basis of standing . At roughly the same time that the Supreme Court issued its decision in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia , a group of white missionaries living with

6720-440: The Constitution does so by itself. The draft clause provoked controversy during discussions on the proposed constitution, and its inclusion became a focal point of criticism for those opposed to ratification of the constitution. Anti-Federalists expressed concern that the clause would grant the federal government boundless power, but Federalists argued that the clause would permit only execution of powers that had been granted by

6860-473: The Constitution must allow to the national legislature that discretion with respect to the means by which the powers it confers are to be carried into execution which will enable that body to perform the high duties assigned to it in the manner most beneficial to the people. Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the Constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited, but consistent with

7000-579: The Constitution prevents the United States from extraditing one of its citizens. His speech helped defeat a motion to censure President Adams for the extradition. In May 1800, President Adams nominated Marshall as Secretary of War , but the President quickly withdrew that nomination and instead nominated Marshall as Secretary of State. Marshall was confirmed by the Senate on May 13 and took office on June 6, 1800. Marshall's appointment as Secretary of State

7140-399: The Constitution was ratified, interpretation of the Necessary and Proper Clause continued to be a powerful bone of contention between the Democratic-Republican Party , the Federalist Party , and several other political parties. The first practical example of that contention came in 1791, when Hamilton used the clause to defend the constitutionality of the new First Bank of the United States ,

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7280-417: The Constitution, which allows the federal government to pass laws not expressly provided for in the Constitution's list of enumerated powers of Congress if such laws are necessary and proper to further the powers expressly authorized. McCulloch has been described as "the most important Supreme Court decision in American history defining the scope of Congress's powers and delineating the relationship between

7420-667: The Democratic-Republican Party. Nonetheless, historians have often praised the accuracy and well-reasoned judgments of Marshall's biography, while noting his frequent paraphrases of published sources such as William Gordon's 1801 history of the Revolution and the British Annual Register. After completing the revision to his biography of Washington, Marshall prepared an abridgment. In 1833 he wrote, "I have at length completed an abridgment of

7560-555: The Democratic-Republicans after 1800. Soon after becoming chief justice, Marshall changed the manner in which the Supreme Court announced its decisions. Previously, each Justice would author a separate opinion (known as a seriatim opinion) as was done in the Virginia Supreme Court of his day and is still done today in the United Kingdom and Australia . Under Marshall, however, the Supreme Court adopted

7700-629: The House of Representatives impeached Associate Justice Samuel Chase , alleging that he had shown political bias in his judicial conduct. Many Democratic-Republicans saw the impeachment as a way to intimidate federal judges, many of whom were members of the Federalist Party. As a witness in the Senate's impeachment trial, Marshall defended Chase's actions. In March 1805, the Senate voted to acquit Chase, as several Democratic-Republican senators joined with their Federalist colleagues in refusing to remove Chase. The acquittal helped further establish

7840-474: The Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional, the Court held that it did not have original jurisdiction over the case even while simultaneously holding that Madison had violated the law. Marbury v. Madison was the first case in which the Supreme Court struck down a federal law as unconstitutional and it is most significant for its role in establishing the Supreme Court's power of judicial review , or

7980-481: The Life of Washington for the use of schools. I have endeavored to compress it as much as possible. ... After striking out every thing which in my judgment could be properly excluded the volume will contain at least 400 pages." The Abridgment was not published until 1838, three years after Marshall died. In 1828, Marshall presided over a convention to promote internal improvements in Virginia. The following year, Marshall

8120-403: The Necessary and Proper Clause so that Congress could realize or fulfill its express taxing and spending powers. The case reaffirmed Hamilton's view that legislation reasonably related to express powers was constitutional. Marshall wrote: We admit, as all must admit, that the powers of the Government are limited, and that its limits are not to be transcended. But we think the sound construction of

8260-488: The Necessary and Proper Clause, which "purport[s] to enlarge, not to diminish the powers vested in the government. It purports to be an additional power, not a restriction on those already granted." Though Marshall rejected the Tenth Amendment's provision of states' rights arguing that it did not include the word "expressly," unlike the Articles of Confederation , which the Constitution replaced, controversy over

8400-588: The Republic of France. The Americans refused to negotiate on such terms, and Marshall and Pinckney eventually decided to return to the United States. Marshall left France in April 1798 and arrived in the United States two months later, receiving a warm welcome by Federalist members of Congress. During his time in France, Marshall and the other commissioners had sent secret correspondence to Adams and Secretary of State Timothy Pickering . In April 1798, Congress passed

8540-520: The Richmond area district favored the Democratic-Republican Party, Marshall won the race, in part due to his conduct during the XYZ Affair and in part due to the support of Patrick Henry . During the campaign, Marshall declined appointment as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, and President Adams instead appointed Marshall's friend, Bushrod Washington . After winning the election, Marshall

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8680-495: The Senate had confirmed their nominations. Though the position of justice of the peace was a relatively powerless and low-paying office, one individual whose commission was not delivered, William Marbury , decided to mount a legal challenge against the Jefferson administration. Seeking to have his judicial commission delivered, Marbury filed suit against the sitting Secretary of State, James Madison. The Supreme Court agreed to hear

8820-580: The Supreme Court could hear appeals from state courts in both civil and criminal matters. Marshall's opinion in Gibbons v. Ogden established that the Commerce Clause bars states from restricting navigation. In the case of Worcester v. Georgia , Marshall held that the Georgia criminal statute that prohibited non- Native Americans from being present on Native American lands without a license from

8960-412: The Supreme Court had been seen as a relatively insignificant institution. Most legal disputes were resolved in state, rather than federal courts. The Court had issued just 63 decisions in its first decades, few of which had made a significant impact, and it had never struck down a federal or state law. During Marshall's 34-year tenure as Chief Justice, the Supreme Court would emerge as an important force in

9100-536: The Supreme Court ruled that the individual mandate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act cannot be upheld under the Necessary and Proper Clause. Chief Justice John Roberts ruled that the mandate cannot "be sustained under the Necessary and Proper Clause as an integral part of the Affordable Care Act's other reforms. Each of this Court's prior cases upholding laws under that Clause involved exercises of authority derivative of, and in service to,

9240-657: The United States Code , Section 1541(b) (1994), in the purpose and policy of the War Powers Resolution . McCulloch v. Maryland This is an accepted version of this page McCulloch v. Maryland , 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 316 (1819), was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that defined the scope of the U.S. Congress 's legislative power and how it relates to the powers of American state legislatures . The dispute in McCulloch involved

9380-637: The Western Shore Treasury. James William McCulloh , a cashier of the Baltimore Branch of the Second Bank of the United States, issued unstamped bank notes to Baltimore resident George Williams. The lawsuit was filed by John James, an informer who sought to collect half of the fine, as provided for by the statute. The Bank was represented by Daniel Webster . The case was appealed to the Maryland Court of Appeals, where

9520-460: The argument that states retain ultimate sovereignty because they ratified the constitution: "The powers of the general government, it has been said, are delegated by the states, who alone are truly sovereign; and must be exercised in subordination to the states, who alone possess supreme dominion." Marshall contended that it was the people who ratified the Constitution and thus the people, not the states, who are sovereign. Thirdly, Marshall addressed

9660-408: The authority of the amendment being violated by the decision has existed. Compact theory also argues that the federal government is a creation of the states and that the states maintain superiority. Unlike Marshall, his successor, Roger B. Taney , established dual federalism by which separate-but-equal branches of government are believed to be a better option. McCulloch v. Maryland was cited in

9800-482: The bank for calling in loans it had made to them. Consequently, some states passed laws designed to hinder the bank's operation, while others simply tried to tax it. In 1818, the Maryland General Assembly —Maryland's state legislature —passed a law levying a $ 15,000 annual tax on any bank operating in Maryland that was issuing notes and bills that were not properly stamped by Maryland's Treasury,

9940-432: The bank without violating the constitution since, as Marshall commented, "the power to tax involves the power to destroy". The Court thus struck down the tax as an unconstitutional attempt by a state to interfere with a federal institution, in violation of the Supremacy Clause . The opinion stated that Congress has implied powers, which must be related to the text of the Constitution but do not need to be enumerated within

10080-462: The bank's creation, fearing it would usurp power from the individual states and concentrate it to a dangerous degree in the central federal government. Congress created the First Bank of the United States in 1791 with a 20-year charter, but the issue continued to be controversial. Those who supported Hamilton's vision of a stronger central government eventually formed the Federalist Party , while those who opposed him and supported Jefferson's vision of

10220-422: The basic theory of implied powers under a written Constitution; intended, as he said "to endure for ages to come, and, consequently, to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs ...." Marshall envisaged a federal government which, although governed by timeless principles, possessed the powers "on which the welfare of a nation essentially depends." "Let the end be legitimate," Marshall wrote, "let it be within

10360-493: The case of Marbury v. Madison in its 1803 term. Meanwhile, the Democratic-Republicans passed the Judiciary Act of 1802 , which effectively repealed the Midnight Judges Act and canceled the Supreme Court's 1802 term. They also began impeachment proceedings against federal judge John Pickering , a prominent Federalist; in response, Federalist members of Congress accused the Democratic-Republicans of trying to infringe on

10500-505: The chores of locating the precedents, saying, "There, Story; that is the law of this case; now go and find the authorities." In his role as Secretary of State in the Adams administration, Marshall had failed to deliver commissions to 42 federal justices of the peace before the end of Adams's term. After coming to power, the Jefferson administration refused to deliver about half of these outstanding commissions, effectively preventing those individuals from receiving their appointments even though

10640-535: The clause resolved that dispute by making those incidental powers be expressed, instead of implied. In a related case after the American Civil War , the clause was employed, in combination with other enumerated powers, to give the federal government virtually complete control over currency. The clause has been paired with the Commerce Clause to provide the constitutional basis for a wide variety of federal laws . For instance, various reforms involved in

10780-428: The clause that the word "necessary" in the clause meant that Congress could pass only laws that were absolutely essential in the execution of its enumerated powers. The Court rejected that argument, on the grounds that many of the enumerated powers of Congress under the Constitution would be useless if only laws deemed essential to a power's execution could be passed. Marshall also noted that the Necessary and Proper Clause

10920-465: The combination of the Constitution together with a treaty. In 1816, Congress established the Second Bank of the United States ("national bank") in order to regulate the country's money supply and provide loans to the federal government and businesses. The state of Maryland imposed a tax on the national bank, but James McCulloch, the manager of the national bank's branch in Baltimore , refused to pay

11060-631: The constitution. Alexander Hamilton spoke vigorously for the second interpretation in Federalist No. 33 . At the time, James Madison concurred with Hamilton and argued in Federalist No. 44 that without the clause, the constitution would be a "dead letter". At the Virginia Ratifying Convention , Patrick Henry took the opposing view by saying that the clause would lead to limitless federal power, which would inevitably menace individual liberty. For several decades after

11200-476: The convention voted 89 to 79 to ratify the constitution. After the United States ratified the Constitution, newly elected President George Washington nominated Marshall as the United States Attorney for Virginia . Though the nomination was confirmed by the Senate, Marshall declined the position, instead choosing to focus on his own law practice. In the early 1790s, the Federalist Party and

11340-488: The deadlock lasted a couple weeks longer (through March 4 or beyond), Marshall, as Secretary of State, would have become acting president until a choice was made. After the election, Adams and the lame duck Congress passed what came to be known as the Midnight Judges Act . This legislation made sweeping changes to the federal judiciary, including a reduction in Supreme Court justices from six to five (upon

11480-478: The death of Associate Justice Washington in 1829, Marshall was the last remaining original member of the Marshall Court, and his influence declined as new justices joined the Court. After Jackson took office in 1829, he clashed with the Supreme Court, especially with regards to his administration's policy of Indian removal . In the 1823 case of Johnson v. McIntosh , the Marshall Court had established

11620-456: The doctrine of executive privilege . During the trial, Marshall ruled that much of the evidence that the government had amassed against Burr was inadmissible; biographer Joel Richard Paul states that Marshall effectively "directed the jury to acquit Burr." After Burr was acquitted, Democratic-Republicans, including President Jefferson, attacked Marshall for his role in the trial. In 1795, the state of Georgia had sold much of its western lands to

11760-462: The exclusive power to regulate commerce, while Ogden's attorneys contended that the Constitution did not prohibit states from restricting navigation. Writing for the Court, Marshall held that navigation constituted a form of commerce and thus could be regulated by Congress. Because New York's monopoly conflicted with a properly issued federal license, the Court struck down the monopoly. However, Marshall did not adopt Webster's argument that Congress had

11900-451: The federal government and the states." The case established two important principles in constitutional law. First, the Constitution grants to Congress implied powers to implement the Constitution's express powers to create a functional national government. Prior to the Supreme Court's decision in McCulloch , the scope of the U.S. government's authority was unclear. Second, state action may not impede valid constitutional exercises of power by

12040-412: The federal government for the first time, and Marshall himself played a major role in shaping the nation's understanding of constitutional law. The Marshall Court would issue more than 1000 decisions, about half of which were written by Marshall himself. Marshall's leadership of the Supreme Court ensured that the federal government would exercise relatively strong powers, despite the political domination of

12180-584: The federal government. Almost immediately after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1788, a major public debate arose over whether to establish a national bank for the United States. Upon George Washington 's inauguration in 1789 as the first President of the United States , his Secretary of the Treasury , Alexander Hamilton , proposed creating a national bank to regulate American currency and deal with national economic problems. Washington's Secretary of State , Thomas Jefferson , strongly opposed

12320-693: The first federal bank in the new nation's history. Concerned that monied aristocrats in the North would take advantage of the bank to exploit the South , Madison argued that Congress lacked the constitutional authority to charter a bank. Hamilton countered that the bank was a reasonable means of carrying out powers related to taxation and the borrowing of funds and claimed that the clause applied to activities that were reasonably related to constitutional powers, not only those that were absolutely necessary to carry out said powers. To embarrass Madison, his contrary claims from

12460-669: The first substantial constitutional case presented before the High Court of Australia in D'Emden v Pedder (1904), which dealt with similar issues in the Australian Federation. While recognizing American law as not binding on them, the Australian Court nevertheless determined that the McCulloch decision provided the best guideline for the relationship between the Commonwealth federal government, and

12600-559: The granddaughter of politician Thomas Randolph of Tuckahoe and a second cousin of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Marshall was employed in Fauquier County as a surveyor and land agent by Lord Fairfax , which provided him with a substantial income. Nonetheless, John Marshall grew up in a two-room log cabin, which he shared with his parents and several siblings; Marshall was the oldest of 15 siblings. One of his younger brothers, James Markham Marshall , would briefly serve as

12740-412: The history of the U.S. Supreme Court , and he is widely regarded as one of the most influential justices ever to serve. Prior to joining the court, Marshall briefly served as both the U.S. secretary of state under President John Adams , and a representative, in the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia , thereby making him one of the few Americans to have held a constitutional office in each of

12880-433: The independence of the federal judiciary. In early February 1803, the Supreme Court held a four-day trial for the case of Marbury v. Madison , though the defendant, James Madison, refused to appear. On February 24, the Supreme Court announced its decision, which biographer Joel Richard Paul describes as "the single most significant constitutional decision issued by any court in American history." The Court held that Madison

13020-413: The independence of the federal judiciary. Relations between the Supreme Court and the executive branch improved after 1805, and several proposals to alter the Supreme Court or strip it of jurisdiction were defeated in Congress. Vice President Aaron Burr was not renominated by his party in the 1804 presidential election and his term as vice president ended in 1805. After leaving office, Burr traveled to

13160-440: The intention of the instrument must prevail; that this intention must be collected from its words; that its words are to be understood in that sense in which they are generally used by those for whom the instrument was intended; that its provisions are neither to be restricted into insignificance, nor extended to objects not comprehended in them, nor contemplated by its framers—is to repeat what has been already said more at large, and

13300-519: The latter was elected Governor of Virginia. Marshall gained a reputation as a talented attorney practicing in the state capital of Richmond , and he took on a wide array of cases. He represented the heirs of Lord Fairfax in Hite v. Fairfax (1786), an important case involving a large tract of land in the Northern Neck of Virginia. Under the Articles of Confederation , the United States during

13440-416: The law came from the charismatic force of his personality and his ability to seize upon the key elements of a case and make highly persuasive arguments. As Oliver Wolcott observed when both he and Marshall served in the Adams administration, Marshall had the knack of "putting his own ideas into the minds of others, unconsciously to them". By 1811, justices appointed by a Democratic-Republican president had

13580-414: The legality of the national bank and a tax that the state of Maryland imposed on it. In its ruling, the Supreme Court established firstly that the "Necessary and Proper" Clause of the U.S. Constitution gives the U.S. federal government certain implied powers necessary and proper for the exercise of the powers enumerated explicitly in the Constitution, and secondly that the American federal government

13720-400: The letter and spirit of the Constitution, are Constitutional." That principle had been established many years earlier by Alexander Hamilton : [A] criterion of what is constitutional, and of what is not so ... is the end, to which the measure relates as a mean. If the end be clearly comprehended within any of the specified powers, and if the measure have an obvious relation to that end, and

13860-457: The letter and spirit of the Constitution, are constitutional. McCulloch v. Maryland held that federal laws could be necessary without being "absolutely necessary" and noted, "The clause is placed among the powers of Congress, not among the limitations on those powers." At the same time, the Court retained the power of judicial review established in Marbury v. Madison by declaring that it had

14000-525: The majority in the Supreme Court decision in Lambert v. Yellowley , 272 U.S. 581 (1926), which upheld a law restricting medicinal use of alcohol as a necessary and proper exercise of power under the 18th Amendment, which established Prohibition . The phrase has become the label of choice for this constitutional clause. It was universally adopted by the courts and received Congress's imprimatur in Title 50 of

14140-789: The measures Congress adopted in the struggle against France, but he disapproved of the Alien and Sedition Acts , four separate laws designed to suppress dissent during the Quasi-War. Marshall published a letter to a local newspaper stating his belief that the laws would likely "create, unnecessarily, discontents and jealousies at a time when our very existence as a nation may depend on our union." After his return from France, Marshall wanted to resume his private practice of law, but in September 1798 former President Washington convinced him to challenge incumbent Democratic-Republican Congressman John Clopton of Virginia's 13th congressional district . Although

14280-587: The mid-1820s, he wrote nearly every decision on slavery, creating a jurisprudence that was contemptuous of free blacks and favorable to violators of the federal ban on the African slave trade. Marshall's association with slavery began early. In 1783, his father Thomas Marshall as a wedding present gave John Marshall his first slave, Robin Spurlock, who would remain Marshall's manservant as well as run his Richmond household. Upon Marshall's death, Spurlock would receive

14420-515: The missionaries. Marshall established the Charming Betsy principle, a rule of statutory interpretation , in the 1804 case of Murray v. The Charming Betsy . The Charming Betsy principle holds that "an act of Congress ought never to be construed to violate the law of nations if any other possible construction remains." In Martin v. Hunter's Lessee , the Supreme Court held that it had the power to hear appeals from state supreme courts when

14560-519: The most controversial decision" handed down by the Marshall Court. Southerners, including Virginia judge Spencer Roane , attacked the decision as an overreach of federal power. In a subsequent case, Osborn v. Bank of the United States , the Court ordered a state official to return seized funds to the national bank. The Osborn case established that the Eleventh Amendment does not grant state officials sovereign immunity when they resist

14700-433: The necessity of an independent judiciary. In 1831, the 76-year-old chief justice traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , where he underwent an operation to remove bladder stones . That December, his wife, Polly, died in Richmond. In early 1835, Marshall again traveled to Philadelphia for medical treatment, where he died on July 6, 1835, at the age of 79, having served as Chief Justice for over 34 years. The Liberty Bell

14840-678: The next vacancy in the court) so as to deny Jefferson an appointment until two vacancies occurred. In late 1800, Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth resigned due to poor health. Adams nominated former Chief Justice John Jay to once again lead the Supreme Court, but Jay rejected the appointment, partly due to his frustration at the relative lack of power possessed by the judicial branch of the federal government. Jay's letter of rejection arrived on January 20, 1801, less than two months before Jefferson would take office. Upon learning of Jay's rejection, Marshall suggested that Adams elevate Associate Justice William Paterson to chief justice, but Adams rejected

14980-467: The operations of the Second Bank of the United States by imposing a prohibitive tax on out-of-state banks, the Second Bank of the United States being the only one. In the case, the Court ruled against Maryland in an opinion written by Chief Justice John Marshall , Hamilton's longtime Federalist ally. Marshall stated that the Constitution did not explicitly give permission to create a federal bank, but it conferred upon Congress an implied power to do so under

15120-601: The people of the United States was the proudest act of my life." The Marshall Court convened for the first time on February 2, 1801, in the Supreme Court Chamber of the Capitol Building . The Court at that time consisted of Chief Justice Marshall and Associate Justices William Cushing, William Paterson , Samuel Chase , Bushrod Washington, and Alfred Moore , each of whom had been appointed by President Washington or President Adams. Prior to 1801,

15260-426: The power to invalidate laws as unconstitutional. As Marshall put it, "it is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is." By asserting the power of judicial review in a holding that did not require the Jefferson administration to take action, the Court upheld its own powers without coming into direct conflict with a hostile executive branch that likely would not have complied with

15400-412: The power to strike down laws that departed from those powers: "Should Congress, in the execution of its powers, adopt measures which are prohibited by the Constitution, or should Congress, under the pretext of executing its powers, pass laws for the accomplishment of objects not intrusted [ sic ] to the Government, it would become the painful duty of this tribunal, should a case requiring such

15540-567: The practice of handing down a single majority opinion of the Court, allowing it to present a clear rule. The Court met in Washington only two months a year, from the first Monday in February through the second or third week in March. Six months of the year the justices were doing circuit duty in the various states. When the Court was in session in Washington, the justices boarded together in

15680-423: The purchase on the basis of the Constitution's Contract Clause . The Court's ruling held that the original sale of land constituted a contract with the purchasers, and the Contract Clause prohibits states from "impairing the obligations of contracts." Fletcher v. Peck was the first case in which the Supreme Court ruled a state law unconstitutional, though in 1796 the Court had voided a state law as conflicting with

15820-475: The ruling returns the clause to its original interpretation, outlined by John Marshall in McCulloch v. Maryland . According to David Kopel , the clause "simply restates the background principle that Congress can exercise powers which are merely 'incidental' to Congress's enumerated powers". The specific term "Necessary and Proper Clause" was coined in 1926 by Associate Justice Louis Brandeis , writing for

15960-447: The sale. Jefferson tried to arrange a compromise by having the federal government purchase the land from Georgia and compensate the New Yazooists, but Congressman John Randolph defeated the compensation bill. The issue remained unresolved, and a case involving the land finally reached the Supreme Court through the 1810 case of Fletcher v. Peck . In March 1810, the Court handed down its unanimous holding, which voided Georgia's repeal of

16100-412: The same rooming house, avoided outside socializing, and discussed each case intently among themselves. Decisions were quickly made, usually in a matter of days. The justices did not have clerks, so they listened closely to the oral arguments, and decided among themselves what the decision should be. Marshall's opinions were workmanlike and not especially eloquent or subtle. His influence on learned men of

16240-403: The scope of congressional powers under Article I. The Court broadly described Congress's authority before it addressed the Necessary and Proper Clause. Marshall admitted that the Constitution does not enumerate a power to create a central Bank but said that is not dispositive as to Congress's power to establish such an institution: "In considering this question, then, we must never forget, that it

16380-442: The scope of the Constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited but consist with the letter and the spirit of the Constitution, are constitutional." The Court also held that Maryland could not tax the national bank, asserting that the power to tax is equivalent to "the power to destroy." The Court's decision in McCulloch was, according to Joel Richard Paul, "probably

16520-635: The sole power to regulate commerce. Newspapers in both the Northern states and the Southern states hailed the decision as a blow against monopolies and the restraint of trade. Marshall personally opposed the presidential candidacy of Andrew Jackson , whom the Chief Justice saw as a dangerous demagogue , and he caused a minor incident during the 1828 presidential campaign when he criticized Jackson's attacks on President John Quincy Adams . After

16660-471: The state of Maryland argued that "the Constitution is silent on the subject of banks." It was Maryland's contention that without specific constitutional authorization for the federal government to create a bank, any such creation would be rendered unconstitutional . The court upheld Maryland. The case was then appealed to the Supreme Court. The Court determined that Congress had the power to create

16800-638: The state was unconstitutional. John Marshall died of natural causes in 1835, and Andrew Jackson appointed Roger Taney as his successor. Marshall was born on September 24, 1755, in a log cabin in Germantown , a rural community on the Virginia frontier, near present-day Midland , Fauquier County . In the mid-1760s, the Marshalls moved northwest to the present-day site of Markham, Virginia . His parents were Thomas Marshall and Mary Randolph Keith,

16940-448: The suggestion, instead saying to Marshall, "I believe I must nominate you." The Senate at first delayed confirming Marshall, as many senators hoped that Adams would choose a different individual to serve as chief justice. According to New Jersey Senator Jonathan Dayton , the Senate finally relented "lest another not so qualified, and more disgusting to the bench, should be substituted, and because it appeared that this gentleman [Marshall]

17080-615: The suit against the defendants, the Eleventh Amendment did not prohibit the case from appearing in federal court. In 1808, Robert R. Livingston and Robert Fulton secured a monopoly from the state of New York for the navigation of steamboats in state waters. Fulton granted a license to Aaron Ogden and Thomas Gibbons to operate steamboats in New York, but the partnership between Ogden and Gibbons collapsed. Gibbons continued to operate steamboats in New York after receiving

17220-583: The supremacy of the federal government and the federal Constitution over the states. In Fletcher v. Peck and Dartmouth College v. Woodward , the court invalidated state actions because they violated the Contract Clause . The court's decision in McCulloch v. Maryland upheld the constitutionality of the Second Bank of the United States and established the principle that the states could not tax federal institutions. The cases of Martin v. Hunter's Lessee and Cohens v. Virginia established that

17360-605: The supremacy of the federal government in dealing with Native American tribes. In the late 1820s, the state of Georgia stepped up efforts to assert its control over the Cherokee within state borders, with the ultimate goal of removing the Cherokee from the state. After Georgia passed a law that voided Cherokee laws and denied several rights to the Native Americans, former Attorney General William Wirt sought an injunction to prevent Georgia from exercising sovereignty over

17500-428: The tax. After he was convicted by Maryland's court system, McCulloch appealed to the Supreme Court, and the Court heard the case of McCulloch v. Maryland in 1819. In that case, the state of Maryland challenged the constitutionality of the national bank and asserted that it had the right to tax the national bank. Writing for the Court, Marshall held that Congress had the power to charter the national bank. He laid down

17640-417: The text. The case was a seminal moment in federalism : the formation of a balance between federal powers and state powers . Marshall also explained in the case that the Necessary and Proper Clause does not require all federal laws to be necessary and proper and that federal laws that are enacted directly pursuant to one of the expressed, enumerated powers granted by the Constitution do not need to comply with

17780-592: The three branches of the United States federal government. Marshall was born in Germantown in the Colony of Virginia in 1755. After the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War , he joined the Continental Army , serving in numerous battles. During the later stages of the war, he was admitted to the state bar and won election to the Virginia House of Delegates . Marshall favored the ratification of

17920-541: The time of its delivery, and enlarged the circle of his reputation" despite his defeat in the case. Vice President John Adams , a member of the Federalist Party, defeated Jefferson in the 1796 presidential election and sought to continue Washington's policy of neutrality in the French Revolutionary Wars. After Adams took office, France refused to meet with American envoys and began attacking American ships. In 1797, Marshall accepted appointment to

18060-431: The western United States, where he may have entertained plans to establish an independent republic from Mexican or American territories. In 1807, Burr was arrested and charged for treason , and Marshall presided over the subsequent trial. Marshall required Jefferson to turn over his correspondence with General James Wilkinson ; Jefferson decided to release the documents, but argued that he was not compelled to do so under

18200-497: Was a delegate to the state constitutional convention of 1829–30 , where he was again joined by fellow American statesman and loyal Virginians, James Madison and James Monroe , although all were quite old by that time (Madison was 78, Monroe 71, and Marshall 74). Although proposals to reduce the power of the Tidewater's slavocracy in relation to the growing western population proved controversial, Marshall mainly spoke to promote

18340-406: Was admitted to the state bar in 1780. After briefly rejoining the Continental Army , Marshall won election to the Virginia House of Delegates in early 1782. Upon joining the House of Delegates, Marshall aligned himself with members of the conservative Tidewater establishment such as James Monroe and Richard Henry Lee . With the backing of his influential father-in-law, Marshall was elected to

18480-585: Was among the last remaining Founding Fathers (a group poetically called the " Last of the Romans "), the last surviving Cabinet member from the John Adams administration and the last Cabinet member to have served in the 18th century. In December 1835, President Andrew Jackson nominated Roger Taney to fill the vacancy for chief justice. Over the course of his life, Marshall owned hundreds of slaves. During his most influential period as chief justice, through

18620-409: Was led by Democratic-Republican President Thomas Jefferson . By establishing the principle of judicial review while avoiding an inter-branch confrontation, Marshall helped implement the principle of separation of powers and cement the position of the American judiciary as an independent and co-equal branch of government. After 1803, many of the major decisions issued by the Marshall Court confirmed

18760-453: Was legally bound to deliver Marbury's commission, and that Marbury had the right to sue Madison. Yet the Court also held that it could not order Madison to deliver the commission because the Judiciary Act of 1789 had unconstitutionally expanded the Court's original jurisdiction to include writs of mandamus , a type of court order that commands a government official to perform an act they are legally required to perform. Because that portion of

18900-584: Was mollified by the transfer of the nation's capital from its temporary seat in Philadelphia to Washington, DC, a more southerly permanent seat on the Potomac , and the bill, along with the establishment of a national mint , was passed by Congress and signed by President George Washington . The clause, as justification for the creation of a national bank, was put to the test in 1819 during McCulloch v. Maryland in which Maryland had attempted to impede

19040-418: Was my only intelligent companion; and was both a watchful parent and an affectionate friend." Thomas Marshall prospered in his work as a surveyor, and in the 1770s he purchased an estate known as Oak Hill . After the 1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord , Thomas and John Marshall volunteered for service in the 3rd Virginia Regiment . In 1776, Marshall became a lieutenant in the 11th Virginia Regiment of

19180-469: Was not privy to his own nomination". Marshall was confirmed by the Senate on January 27, 1801, and took office on February 4. At the request of the president, he continued to serve as Secretary of State until Adams' term expired on March 4. Consequently, Marshall was charged with delivering judicial commissions to the individuals who had been appointed to the positions created by the Midnight Judges Act. Adams would later state that "my gift of John Marshall to

19320-518: Was preceded by a split between Adams and Hamilton, the latter of whom led a faction of Federalists who favored declaring war on France. Adams fired Secretary of State Timothy Pickering, a Hamilton supporter, after Pickering tried to undermine peace negotiations with France. Adams directed Marshall to bring an end to the Quasi-War and settle ongoing disputes with Britain, Spain , and the Barbary States . The position of Secretary of State also held

19460-668: Was rung following his death—a widespread story claims that this was when the bell cracked, never to be rung again. Unbeknownst to Marshall, his eldest son, Thomas , had died only a few days before, killed by the collapse of a chimney during a storm in Baltimore, through which he was passing on his way to be at his dying father's side. Marshall's body was returned to Richmond and buried next to Polly's in Shockoe Hill Cemetery . The inscription on his tombstone, engraved exactly as he had wished, reads as follows: Marshall

19600-455: Was sworn into office when the 6th Congress convened in December 1799. He quickly emerged as a leader of the moderate faction of Federalists in Congress. His most notable speech in Congress was related to the case of Thomas Nash (alias Jonathan Robbins), whom the government had extradited to Great Britain on charges of murder. Marshall defended the government's actions, arguing that nothing in

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