The Punic Wars were a major turning point in Roman history. Why was this?

The nearly 20 year war pitched Rome against Carthage in what became a turning point in Roman history. Rome would undergo economic changes that led to the establishment of the practice of Roman aristocrats paying extra costs of the war in an exemption of military service.

the two colonies had the earliest laws mandating religious tolerance.

both are true, the congress does have the power to create banks, even if this power is not specifically described in the constitution, since there is nothing restricting it and there is power given to the congress to make "all laws which shall be necessary and proper". maryland was not allowed to tax a branch of the national bank operating there, and the supreme court decided that no state could. both of these topics were discussed in a decision of the mcculloch v. maryland case in 1819.