Clearly, Federalism is the groundwork for the American government. It sets up the separation of powers, checks and balances, and the relationships between state and federal governments. The constitutional vagueness (particularly on the definition of federalism) that we have become so accustomed to leads the incredible importance of the court and its ongoing role of providing us with clarity on the issue. Justice O’Connor’s “protect us from our

Each time the Court is sought out to answer or define the stipulations and questions brought up by either theory, federalism can realistically be changed. If the Court simply shifts its reading of the Necessary and Proper Clause from liberal to conservative or visa versa, the way the entire structure of the governments behaves can be radically altered.

Chief Justice Marshall’s ideals are set forth in the given quote as he explains the reasoning and need for vagueness in the Constitution (and therefore federalism). Basically, he expresses only the need for a framework or “outline” of the main objectives, pointing out that the rest of the definition (“minor ingredients”) can be deduced from these main objectives. More specifically, he sets the stage for the Supreme Court to fill in the blanks so to speak. The ambiguity of these “minor ingredients” is what sets the stage for so much constitutional change.

McCulloch v. Maryland settled the question of national supremacy for a time. Justice Marshall's interpretation of the Constitution was premised on the notion that the national government was the creation of the people and not the states and that Article VI established federal law as the supreme law of the land (Supremacy Clause). Justice Marshall wrote that the power to tax involves the power to destroy. If the Bank, an entity of the federal government, could be taxed out of existence by the states it would be a breach of Article VI, one of the fundamental principles of the Constitution; the supremacy of the national government.

Chief Justice John Marshall, in writing the Supreme Court's unanimous decision, acknowledged that the national government was limited to powers enumerated in the Constitution, but stated that Article I also allowed the national government to pass such laws "necessary and proper" to carry out powers and duties enumerated by the Constitution. Thus, the establishment of a national bank, though not explicitly sanctioned by the Constitution, was an appropriate activity, under the doctrine of Implied Powers, which allowed the national government to carry out express powers, duties, or authority such as levying and collecting taxes, issuing currency, and borrowing funds.

own best intentions” quote very plainly points out the importance of federalism. The overwhelming significance of the each decision made concerning federalism must be consistent with this n

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