ABSTRACT
One of the most contentious political and constitutional battles in the early decades of the United States concerned a bank, and whether under the Constitution Congress had the power to charter banks and other institutions. The case that ultimately resolved these issues bore the name of James William McCulloh, a man of modest means, boundless energy and ambition, and few scruples. McCulloh, as the Baltimore branch cashier, played the key role. In his official capacity as an officer of the Bank he spoke critically of the central management in Philadelphia, calling it too conservative. Speaking for a unanimous Court, John Marshall quickly demolished M'Culloch v. Maryland's assertions of state sovereignty. The impact of M'Culloch lay less in its specific holding than in the bold and expansive manner in which the chief justice interpreted federal power. After a bench trial in March 1823, McCulloh and James A. Buchanan were acquitted and the indictment against George Williams dismissed.
