The United States vs. Samuel R. Wood was a Supreme Court case in which the defendant, Samuel R. Wood, was accused of violating the Revenue Act of 1837 by failing to pay taxes on spirits he had distilled and sold at his distillery in Kentucky. The court ruled that Congress did not have the power to impose such taxes under its authority granted by Article I Section 8 Clause 1 of the Constitution because it exceeded their enumerated powers given by this clause; therefore, they declared that any tax imposed must be authorized directly from an act passed by Congress itself rather than through an executive order or other means outside of congressional action as had been done with this particular revenue act. This decision set a precedent for future cases involving taxation and federalism issues between states and national government entities as it established clear boundaries regarding what types of laws could be enacted without direct congressional approval versus those which required legislative authorization before taking effect.

In the case of The United States vs. Samuel R. Wood, the Supreme Court was tasked with deciding whether or not a state court had jurisdiction to try an individual for a crime committed on board of a vessel in navigable waters within its territorial limits. The majority opinion held that such jurisdiction did exist and affirmed the conviction by the state court, while Justice McLean dissented from this decision. He argued that as Congress has exclusive authority over all matters relating to navigation and commerce on navigable waters, it is solely responsible for punishing crimes committed thereon; thus any attempt by states to exercise criminal jurisdiction would be unconstitutional interference with federal power. Furthermore, he noted that if states were allowed to punish offenses occurring on vessels in their territorial limits then they could potentially interfere with interstate trade which would be detrimental both economically and politically due to conflicting laws between different jurisdictions. As such, Justice McLean concluded that only Congress can legislate regarding crimes committed at sea or upon vessels navigating through navigable waters within its boundaries