Article VI of the Constitution does three things. It carries the debts of the pre-Constitution government forward as valid obligations of the new one, it makes the Constitution, federal laws, and treaties the supreme law of the land over any conflicting state law, and it requires every federal and state official to swear or affirm support for the Constitution while forbidding any religious test as a qualification for office.1Congress.gov. Constitution of the United States – Article VI
Clause 1: Debts From Before Ratification Still Count
The first clause declares that all debts and engagements entered into before the Constitution took effect remain just as valid against the United States under the new government as they were under the Articles of Confederation. The Continental Congress had borrowed heavily to fund the Revolutionary War, including more than two million dollars from France and additional loans John Adams secured from Dutch bankers in 1782.2Congress.gov. Constitution Annotated – ArtVI.C1.1 Debts and Engagements Clause3Office of the Historian. U.S. Debt and Foreign Loans, 1775-1795
Reorganizing the government did not reorganize the ledger. Foreign lenders and domestic bondholders kept their claims, and the new Treasury inherited the old obligations. That legal continuity mattered for trade, diplomacy, and the country’s ability to borrow again.
Clause 2: The Supremacy Clause
The second clause, known as the Supremacy Clause, declares that the Constitution, federal laws made under its authority, and treaties of the United States are “the supreme Law of the Land.” Judges in every state are bound by them regardless of anything in a state constitution or state statute to the contrary.1Congress.gov. Constitution of the United States – Article VI
This is the hierarchy that makes federalism work. When federal and state law collide, federal law wins. Without it, states could ignore national policy whenever it suited them, and the union would function as a loose association rather than a country.
The “In Pursuance Thereof” Limit
Federal law is supreme only when “made in Pursuance” of the Constitution. A statute Congress passes outside its constitutional powers does not automatically override state law just because Congress passed it. In Marbury v. Madison (1803), Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that when a statute and the Constitution conflict, “the constitution, and not such ordinary act, must govern the case to which they both apply.”4Congress.gov. Constitution Annotated – ArtIII.S1.3 Marbury v Madison and Judicial Review The Supremacy Clause elevates constitutional federal action, not all federal action, which is why states retain broad authority over matters the Constitution does not hand to Congress.
How the Clause Has Been Enforced
Two early Supreme Court cases show how the clause operates against the states. In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), the Court struck down Maryland’s tax on the Second Bank of the United States, holding that states cannot tax or interfere with the operations of the federal government. Marshall warned that “the power to tax involves the power to destroy.”5Justia. McCulloch v Maryland In Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), the Court held that New York’s grant of an exclusive steamboat monopoly had to yield to Congress’s power to regulate interstate commerce.6National Archives. Gibbons v Ogden (1824) Together, these decisions established that states cannot use taxation, monopolies, or local regulation to undercut federal authority.
Preemption in Practice
The Supremacy Clause produces the doctrine of federal preemption, which is how courts actually decide whether a state law survives alongside a federal one. Courts recognize two broad categories.7Congress.gov. Federal Preemption – A Legal Primer
Express preemption is the easy case. Congress writes into the statute that state law on the topic is overridden, and courts enforce that language. Implied preemption is harder, and it comes in two forms. Field preemption applies when federal regulation of an area is so comprehensive that no room is left for state law to add to it; immigration law is a common example. Conflict preemption applies when a state law directly clashes with federal law, either because complying with both is impossible or because the state law stands as an obstacle to what Congress was trying to accomplish. Most disputes are not obvious on their face, and outcomes often turn on close readings of what Congress intended.
Treaties Get Slightly Different Treatment
Federal statutes must be made “in Pursuance” of the Constitution to be supreme. Treaties need only be made “under the Authority of the United States.” The Supreme Court addressed the difference in Missouri v. Holland (1920), when Missouri challenged a federal law implementing a treaty with Great Britain that protected migratory birds. The state argued wildlife regulation was reserved to the states under the Tenth Amendment. The Court disagreed 7 to 2, holding that a valid treaty and the laws needed to carry it out are the supreme law of the land, and that the Tenth Amendment cannot block the treaty power.8Justia. Missouri v Holland, 252 U.S. 416 (1920) Through treaties, the federal government can reach subjects it might not be able to regulate by ordinary legislation alone.
Clause 3, First Part: The Oath to Support the Constitution
Every senator, representative, state legislator, and executive and judicial officer at both the federal and state level must swear or affirm that they will support the Constitution.1Congress.gov. Constitution of the United States – Article VI The option to affirm rather than swear was written in from the start to accommodate Quakers and others with religious objections to sworn oaths.
The presidential oath is set separately in Article II. For most other federal officers, Congress codified the oath at 5 U.S.C. ยง 3331, which goes further than Article VI requires and pledges the officer to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic” and to “bear true faith and allegiance to the same.”9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 3331 – Oath of Office The oath binds officials at every level of American government to the same document, so a state legislator and a Supreme Court justice share the same first obligation.
Clause 3, Second Part: No Religious Test for Office
The last sentence of Article VI forbids any religious test as a qualification for federal office or public trust. At ratification, most states still required officeholders to profess some form of Christian belief, and several demanded specific denominational affiliations. The colonies had inherited English requirements that officials not only swear loyalty to the Crown but also take communion in the Church of England.10Legal Information Institute. Historical Background on Religious Test for Government Offices
The clause as written applied only to federal offices. The Supreme Court extended the principle to state offices in Torcaso v. Watkins (1961), striking down a Maryland provision that required officeholders to declare a belief in God. The Court held the requirement invaded the freedom of belief and religion guaranteed by the First Amendment and applied to the states through the Fourteenth.11Justia. Torcaso v Watkins, 367 U.S. 488 (1961) After Torcaso, no government in the United States can condition public office on religious belief or disbelief. The only qualification Article VI itself imposes is willingness to swear or affirm loyalty to the Constitution.