would be absurd indeed, if the laws which
are granted in the constitution, were not to be, without reserve, the
supreme law of the land. To give Congress power to make laws for the
Union, and then to say they should not have force throughout the Union,
would be glaringly inconsistent:--Such an inconsistency, however, has
hitherto been the evil which the whole continent have complained of, and
which the new constitution is designed to remedy.--Let us reverse the
proposition, and see how it will then stand.--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 their authority, shall not
be the supreme law of the land--and the judges in the several states shall
not be bound thereby.--This is exactly what the anti-federalists wish to be
the case; this, and in this alone would they glory.--But, fellow citizens,
you will discern the excellency of the aforementioned clause; you will
perceive that it is calculated, wisely calculated, to support the dignity
of this mighty empire, to restore publick and private credit, and national
confidence.

Article IV. further provides, That 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; but no religious test shall ever be required as a
qualification to any office or publick trust under the United States.

Thus, my fellow-citizens, we see that our rulers are to be bound by the
most sacred ties, to support our rights and liberties, to secure to us the
full enjoyment of every privilege which we can wish for; they are bound by
the constitution to guarantee to us a republican form of government in its
fullest extent; and what is there more that we can wish for?

Thus the people of the United States, "in order to form a more perfect
Union, establish justice, insure domestick tranquillity, provide for the
common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of
liberty to ourselves and our posterity," have appointed a federal
convention to "ordain and establish," with the concurrence of the people,
a constitution for the United States of America. That federal convention
have assembled together, and after a full investigation of the different
concerns of the Union, have propo