Georgia Magazine - October 2013 - 7

National debts and
the Supremacy Clause
Article VI, Clause 1, of the U.S.
Constitution says debts contracted
before the existence of the Constitution were valid, and the federal
government would be obligated to
pay these debts. Such debts were
held by citizens who had loaned
money to the U.S. government
during the Revolutionary War, when
it operated under the Articles of Confederation.
According to "The Heritage
Guide to the Constitution," the framers of the Constitution believed the
new government had an obligation
to pay back its creditors and that
the Constitution needed to state this.
Article VI, Clause 2, the Supremacy Clause, says the Constitution, laws
and treaties made "under the Authority of the United States, shall be the
supreme Law of the Land." Boston
University law professor Gary Lawson, in "The Heritage Guide to the
Constitution," makes the point that
federal laws are only "supreme" if
made "in pursuance" of the Constitution. Chief Justice John Marshall used
this language in Marbury v. Madison,
in 1803, to support his opinion that
the Constitution allowed the courts to
review laws passed by Congress. Unconstitutional laws would not be the
"supreme Law of the Land."
Lawson also says the Supremacy
Clause grants no specific power to
the federal government. It simply allows conflicts between the federal
and state governments to be resolved
in favor of the federal government.
Lawson says delegates at the
Constitutional Convention shared a
"general understanding that the Supremacy Clause was a straightforward conflict-of-laws rule designed
to resolve conflicts between state and
federal law touching on the same
subject."
Article VI, Clause 3, requires all
public officials in the U.S. to support
the Constitution.
-Jim Jess
October 2013

2-7.mb.vp_1013.indd 7

Sign up for GEORGIA Magazine's E-blast
Want to know what's
going on with GEORGIA
Magazine-and what's on
the horizon?
Subscribe to the E-blast list
for the latest information on articles,
contests, partnerships and more,
delivered right to your inbox. To subscribe, visit bit.ly/gamagnews.

Picture this?

Guess where this
is and you could

Win a $25
gift card!

In "Picture this?" the reader whose photo of a Georgia place is published wins a $25
Target gift card-as does the person who correctly guesses what the photo is and where
it was taken. The winner's name (drawn at random from correct guesses) and the answer
will appear in a future issue.
If you're ready to guess, or have a photo for us to consider, email picturethis@geor
giaemc.com or mail to "Picture this," P.O. Box 1707, Tucker, GA 30085. Submissions for
consideration should be 300-dpi photos you have taken of locations that are accessible to
the public and easy to identify. Please send photos and guesses separately.
Guesses for the October contest must be received by Oct. 22, 2013. With all correspondence, both via email and regular mail, please include your name, address and
phone number.
Our winners from the August 2013 issue are Donald Daniel, of Forsyth, who took the
photo, and Marjorie Frazier, of Warner Robins, who correctly guessed it is the Vulcan
Steam Train at the Georgia Museum of Agriculture & Historic Village (formerly Agrirama) in Tifton. The museum
is housed at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. According to the museum's website, abac.edu/museum, the
grounds consist of a traditional 1870s farm community, an
1890s progressive farmstead, an industrial sites complex,
rural town, national peanut complex and the Museum of
Agriculture Center.
August 2013
More online at www.georgiamagazine.org

5/12/16 11:15 PM

http://www.bit.ly/gamagnews http://www.abac.edu/museum http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Georgia Magazine - October 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - October 2013