What is the supreme law of the land?

The supreme law of the land is the Constitution. This designation means that the Constitution is the foundational legal document of the United States, establishing the framework for the government and delineating the rights of the states and the rights of individuals. It supersedes any other federal or state law, meaning that if there is a conflict between the Constitution and any other law, the Constitution prevails.

This central role of the Constitution also includes its ability to be amended, allowing for changes to be made as the nation evolves while still maintaining the core principles upon which it was founded. Other documents, while historically and politically significant, serve different purposes: the Bill of Rights enumerates specific freedoms and protections, the Declaration of Independence articulates the colonies' reasons for seeking separation from British rule, and the Emancipation Proclamation was a wartime measure regarding slavery. None of these serve as the foundational legal authority that governs the country as a whole in the way that the Constitution does.