Which Article Proclaims the Highest Law?

Last reviewed: October 3, 2026. This article is general information, not legal advice. Whether a particular federal law overrides a state law depends on the specific statutes involved, so check with a lawyer for a real dispute.

This question turns up on civics tests and citizenship-style quizzes, and it's an easy one to get wrong because the Constitution's articles are known mostly by number. Here's the answer, the exact words, and why it still matters every day.

Short answer: Article VI proclaims the Constitution the highest law. Its second paragraph, known as the Supremacy Clause, says the Constitution, federal laws made under it, and treaties are "the supreme Law of the Land", and that judges in every state are bound by them even if a state's own constitution or laws say otherwise. (It is not Article II, which deals with the President.)

What Article VI contains

Article VI is short, with three paragraphs:

Debts. Debts and engagements made before the Constitution remain valid against the United States.
Supremacy. The clause quoted above.
Oaths. Members of Congress, state legislators, and all executive and judicial officers of both the United States and the states "shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."

The oath clause backs up the Supremacy Clause: state officials, not just federal ones, swear to support the federal Constitution.

What "supreme law of the land" means in practice

1. The Constitution is above ordinary laws

Federal laws count as supreme only if they are made "in Pursuance" of the Constitution. In Marbury v. Madison (1803), Chief Justice Marshall wrote that written constitutions are meant as "the fundamental and paramount law of the nation, and consequently the theory of every such government must be, that an act of the legislature repugnant to the constitution is void." That is the root of judicial review: courts can refuse to enforce a law that conflicts with the Constitution.

2. Valid federal law beats conflicting state law

When a state law truly conflicts with valid federal law, federal law wins. Cornell's Legal Information Institute summarizes it this way: the Supremacy Clause establishes that "federal law takes precedence over any conflicting state law." In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), the Supreme Court used this principle to stop Maryland taxing the Bank of the United States, holding that "the states have no power, by taxation or otherwise, to retard, impede, burden, or in any manner control, the operations of the constitutional laws enacted by congress."

3. Preemption

Today, most Supremacy Clause disputes are about preemption: whether a federal law displaces a state law. Preemption can be express, where Congress says so in the statute, or implied, where it follows from a direct conflict or from Congress occupying a whole field. Courts generally don't presume preemption in areas states have traditionally regulated unless Congress's intent is clear.

What it doesn't mean

It doesn't make every federal action lawful. Federal laws and actions must themselves be within the Constitution.
It doesn't erase state law. States keep broad power over areas like most crimes, family law, property and contracts. Where there's no conflict, state law applies.
It doesn't let the federal government pre-approve state laws. Conflicts are generally resolved in court cases after the fact.

Why it matters to you

You see the Supremacy Clause at work when a state law is challenged for conflicting with your constitutional rights, when federal safety or labor rules override a stricter or looser state rule, and when a court has to decide which of two laws applies to you. If you're ever in a dispute where federal and state law point in different directions, the first questions a lawyer will ask are: is the federal law valid, and does it actually conflict with or preempt the state law?

Which article of the Constitution is the Supremacy Clause in?

Article VI, Clause 2 (the second paragraph of Article VI). Article VI also deals with debts from before the Constitution and requires officials to take an oath to support the Constitution.

Does the Supremacy Clause mean federal law always beats state law?

Only valid federal law, made under the Constitution, and only where there is a real conflict or Congress has chosen to take over a field. In many areas states make their own laws, and courts are reluctant to find that federal law displaces state law in fields states have traditionally regulated.

Is the Constitution higher than laws passed by Congress?

Yes. Article VI covers federal laws "made in Pursuance" of the Constitution, and since Marbury v. Madison (1803) courts have held that a law that conflicts with the Constitution is void.

Are state constitutions also supreme?

Each state's constitution is the highest law of that state on state matters, but it cannot override the US Constitution or valid federal law. Article VI says judges in every state are bound by federal law notwithstanding anything in a state's constitution or laws.

Sources

The Constitution of the United States, full transcript: National Archives
Supremacy Clause, Wex legal dictionary: Cornell LII
Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803): Cornell LII
McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 316 (1819): Cornell LII

Which Article Proclaims the Constitution as the Highest Law? Article VI Explained