"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 the letter and spirit of the constitution, are constitutional. The power to tax involves the power to destroy." — Chief Justice John Marshall, McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819
Marshall's view in this excerpt contrasts most sharply with the constitutional position later associated with which figure?
- A
John Quincy Adams's program of internal improvements
- B
Daniel Webster's nationalism
- Ccheck_circle
John C. Calhoun and his theory of state sovereignty
- D
Henry Clay and the American System
Explanation
Calhoun's South Carolina Exposition argued states could nullify federal acts — the antithesis of Marshall's broad nationalism. Clay, Webster, and Adams largely shared Marshall's nationalist outlook.