Georgian
Jeffersonian politicians first provoked a court case when, in 1805, they imposed a tax on the Bank of the United States' locally held capital. Many
Jeffersonian Democrats strongly opposed the chartering of a national bank as a violation of
states rights and wanted to see it dissolved. However, because state governments lack the power to directly legislate federal institutions under the
supremacy clause, Jeffersonian Democrats in Georgia chose another route to fight back against the Bank: taxes. The lawmakers hoped that heavy taxes on the bank would drive it out of Georgia. The Bank decided to ignore the tax in an act of
civil disobedience, hoping that a conflict with the state would bring the question of corporate rights in front of the Supreme Court. After the Bank refused to pay the new taxes, a Georgian tax collector named
Peter Deveaux decided to take matters into his own hands, forcibly confiscating two boxes of silver from the
Savannah branch of the Bank. The Bank sued Deveaux in Federal court, circumventing the Georgia state court for fear of bias. The case came in front of the Supreme Court, headed by
John Marshall, a
Federalist and supporter of the bank. == Syllabus ==