supremacy clause

(noun)

Article VI, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution, which establishes the U.S. Constitution, federal statutes, and U.S. Treaties as "the supreme law of the land"

Related Terms

Examples of supremacy clause in the following topics:

  • The Supremacy Clause

    • The Supremacy Clause established the U.S.
    • Article VI, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution, known as the Supremacy Clause, establishes the U.S.
    • The Supremacy Clause only applies if the federal government is acting in pursuit of its constitutionally authorized powers, as noted by the phrase "in pursuance thereof" in the actual text of the Supremacy Clause itself.
    • Two sections of the essays deal with the Supremacy Clause, in which Alexander Hamilton argues that the Supremacy Clause is simply an assurance that the government's powers can be properly executed.
    • Discuss how the Supremacy Clause shapes the relationship between federal and state law.

  • Protecting Citizens from Other Governments

    • The Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution is designed to avoid placing citizens in exactly this predicament (Article VI, Sec. 2).

  • McCulloch v. Maryland

    • Maryland (1819), the Supreme Court affirmed the supremacy of federal powers over those of states.
    • Maryland (1819) was one of several decisions during the 1810s and 1820s involving the balance of power between the federal government and individual states in which the Marshall Court affirmed federal supremacy.
    • The Court broadly described Congress' authority before addressing the Necessary and Proper clause.
    • Fourth, in liberally interpreting the Necessary and Proper clause, the Court naturally rejected Maryland's narrow interpretation of the clause, which purported that the word "necessary" in the Necessary and Proper Clause meant that Congress could only pass those laws which were absolutely essential in the execution of its enumerated powers.
    • Chief Justice Marshall also explained in this case that the Necessary and Proper Clause "purport[s] to enlarge, not to diminish the powers vested in the government.

  • Moods in Dependent Clauses

  • The Transformation of Law

    • In this decision, the Court held that the Contract Clause of the Constitution protects private corporate charters from state interference.
    • Marshall affirmed the supremacy of the federal government over the state of Maryland in this decision.

  • The Expansion of the Federal Government

    • Ogden, both of which broadly expanded the power and supremacy of the national government.
    • Maryland (1819) was one of several decisions involving the balance of power between the federal government and individual states in which the Marshall Court affirmed federal supremacy.
    • The Court invoked the "Necessary and Proper" clause of the Constitution, which allowed the federal government to pass laws not named in the Constitution's list of express powers, provided those laws usefully furthered the express powers of Congress under the Constitution.
    • Ogden (1824) was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court held that the power to regulate interstate commerce was granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.

  • The Establishment Clause: Separation of Church and State

    • The Establishment Clause in the First Amendment to the Constitution states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. " Together with the Free Exercise Clause ("... or prohibiting the free exercise thereof"), these two clauses make up what are called the "religion clauses" of the First Amendment.
    • Incorporation of the Establishment Clause in 1947 has been tricky and subject to much more critique than incorporation of the Free Exercise Clause.
    • Critics have also argued that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment is understood to incorporate only individual rights found in the Bill of Rights; the Establishment Clause, unlike the Free Exercise Clause (which critics readily concede protects individual rights), does not purport to protect individual rights.
    • One main question of the Establishment Clause is: does government financial assistance to religious groups violate the Establishment Clause?
    • Distinguish the Establishment Clause from other clauses of the First Amendment

  • The Free Exercise Clause: Freedom of Religion

    • The Free Exercise Clause is the accompanying clause with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
    • The Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause together read:" Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."
    • Then it took on a relatively narrow view of the governmental restrictions required under the clause.
    • This interpretation of the Free Exercise Clause continued into the 1960s.
    • Describe how the interpretation of the Free Exercise clause has changed over time.

  • Promoting the General Welfare

    • In many constitutions, the general welfare clause has been used as a basis for promoting the well-being of the governed people.
    • The Preamble of the United States Constitution states that the Union was established "to promote the general Welfare. " The Taxing and Spending Clause is the clause that gives the federal government of the United States its power of taxation.
    • There have been different interpretations of the meaning of the General Welfare clause.
    • General Welfare clause arises from two distinct disagreements: The first concerns whether the General Welfare clause grants an independent spending power or is a restriction upon the taxing power; the second disagreement pertains to what exactly is meant by the phrase "general welfare. "
    • Illustrate how the General Welfare clause of the Constitution is applied to public policy

  • What About The BSD License?

    • Fortunately, many of the projects that used this license became aware of the problem, and simply dropped the advertising clause.
    • The result is the revised BSD license, which is simply the original BSD license with the advertising clause removed.
    • However, there is perhaps one reason to prefer the revised BSD license to the MIT/X license, which is that the BSD includes this clause:
    • It's not clear that without such a clause, a recipient of the software would have had the right to use the licensor's name anyway, but the clause removes any possible doubt.
    • If you wish to use the most recent revised BSD license, a template is available at opensource.org/licenses/BSD-2-Clause.