What is the supreme law of the land in the United States?
The Constitution.
What does the Constitution do?
It serves three main purposes: it sets up the structure of the government, defines the powers of the government, and protects the basic rights of American citizens.
The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?
We the People.
What does "We the People" signify in the Constitution?
It signifies that the government of the United States was created by and gets its power from the people, a principle known as popular sovereignty.
What is the 'Rule of Law'?
The principle that everyone, including leaders and the government itself, must follow the law. No one is above the law.
Where is the concept of the Constitution as the 'supreme law' formally stated?
In the Supremacy Clause, located in Article VI, Clause 2 of the Constitution. It states that federal laws and treaties made under the Constitution are the supreme law of the land.
If a state law conflicts with a federal law, which one prevails according to the Supremacy Clause?
The federal law prevails, as long as it is in pursuance of the Constitution.
When was the Constitution written?
It was written in (1787) at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
