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The Issue Of National Supremacy

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The issue of national supremacy is one that is addressed through several cases decided by the Marshall Court. McCullough v. Maryland (1819) and Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) are two of the most important cases concerning national supremacy that came to the Supreme Court during John Marshall 's time as chief justice. While McCullough deals with the right of the federal government to create its own bank, Gibbons deals with the right of the federal government to regulate interstate and foreign commerce. National supremacy refers to the idea that when there is a conflict between a state law and a federal law, the federal law takes precedence. It comes from the Supremacy Clause in Article Six, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution. The clause makes the United States Constitution, its treaties, and its federal laws the highest laws in the land. Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) centers on the question of the meaning of the word "commerce" and whether a state government can make a contract with an individual giving him exclusive rights to run a steamboat line between New York and New Jersey on the waterways. An issue arises when New Jersey then wants to make a contract with someone going back and forth from New York. The question becomes who holds the power to regulate the water. The Court determined the definition of commerce is "intercourse," which means that even if a body of water is located in New York it comes under the jurisdiction of interstate because at some point the

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