Article VI, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution, which establishes that federal law takes precedence over state law when there is a conflict. It makes the Constitution, federal laws, and treaties the 'supreme Law of the Land.'
From Latin 'supremus' (highest) and 'clausula' (a closing or provision). The concept emerged from the Founders' recognition that the Articles of Confederation failed partly because states could ignore federal authority.
This clause sparked one of the most important Supreme Court cases ever—McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)—when Maryland tried to tax the federal bank out of existence, leading Chief Justice Marshall to declare that 'the power to tax involves the power to destroy' and firmly establish federal supremacy!
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