Clause 2.—­National Supremacy.

This constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.

This provision settles definitely, and in what would seem to be unmistakable terms, the question of supremacy, about which so much discussion has been carried on.  Within its sphere, within the limitations placed upon it by the constitution itself, the national government has the supremacy over any and all state governments.

Clause 3.—­Oath of Office.

The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this constitution;[1] but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.[2]

[1] The first law passed by congress under the constitution was an act prescribing the form of the oath required by the provision above.  It is as follows:  “I, A. B., do solemnly swear, or affirm (as the case may be), that I will support the constitution of the United States.”

[2] In all other countries at the time of the adoption of this constitution eligibility to public office was limited to members of the established church of the country.  This constitution set the example of abolishing religious tests for public office, and the wisdom of this is so apparent that it has been followed entirely or in part by many of the civilized nations.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

ARTICLE VII.—­RATIFICATION OF THIS CONSTITUTION.

The ratification of the conventions of nine states shall be sufficient for the establishment of this constitution between the states so ratifying the same.

Nine states made two-thirds of the entire number.  Eleven states ratified the constitution within nine months of the time of its submission to them.  As soon as nine states had ratified, congress made arrangements for putting the new form of government into operation.

The mode of ratification herein specified ignored the existence of the articles of confederation, and in specifying this mode the convention disregarded the instructions of the congress which called it.  The congress had expressly provided that the work of the convention should be submitted to the congress and the state legislatures for approval.  But this provision places the power to ratify in the hands of conventions elected by the people in the several states, which arrangement is in harmony with the opening words of the preamble.