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James W. McCulloh

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James W. McCulloh
Born(1789-02-05)February 5, 1789
Philadelphia
DiedJune 17, 1861(1861-06-17) (aged 72)
New Jersey
OccupationCashier
ChildrenRichard Sears McCulloh[1]

James W. McCulloh (1789–1861) was an American politician from Baltimore.[2] He is known for being a party in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), which held that Congress has implied powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause, and its valid exercise of those powers are supreme over the states.[3] The case refers to him as "McCulloch" because the court clerk misspelled his name.[4]

Early life

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McCulloh and partner Soloman Birkhead were in business in Baltimore as early as 1799 operating McCulloh & Birkhead.[5][6] McCulloh later worked for the George Williams Counting House, part of the Second Bank of the United States, as a cashier who was twice indicted for conspiracy.

James W. McCulloch bought land that was part of the 5000-acre "Taylor's Forest" surveyed in 1678. He built a stone farmhouse on his 511-acre site between 1818 and 1825 for himself. After defending several charges of conspiracy, the property was sold to John Lewis Buchanan in 1825 and again in 1825 to his partner's son Dr. Lennox Birkhead. The estate named Hilton is now in use by Community College of Baltimore County.[7]

McCulloh served as Comptroller of the US Treasury from 1842 to 1849.[8]

Political offices
Preceded by Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates
1827
Succeeded by

References

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  1. ^ Richard P. Cox. Civil War Maryland: Stories from the Old Line State.
  2. ^ "Maryland State Archives" (PDF). Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  3. ^ Gold, Susan Dudley (2008). McCulloch v. Maryland: State v. Federal Power. Marshall Cavendish Benchmark. ISBN 9780761425878.
  4. ^ Schwartz, David S. (2019). The Spirit of the Constitution: John Marshall and the 200-Year Odyssey of McCulloch v. Maryland. Oxford University Press. p. 46. ISBN 9780190699505.
  5. ^ Richard J. Cox, City Archivist and Records Management Officer (1981). A Name Index to the Baltimore City Tax Records, 1798-1808, of the Baltimore City Archives.
  6. ^ John Thomas Scharf. The Chronicles of Baltimore: Being a Complete History of "Baltimore Town. p. 267.
  7. ^ "Maryland State Archives" (PDF). Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  8. ^ Samuel Pearce May. The Descendants of Richard Sares (Sears) of Yarmouth, Mass., 1638-1888. p. 285.