What Does the Preamble Say?
The preamble of the United States Constitution says that the constitution is being established for a republican form of government. The preamble is an introduction to the United States Constitution.
Here is what the preamble actually says:
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
The preamble is a general outline of the principles that are laid down in the Constitution. It sums up the intentions that the delegates had for the Constitution they were drafting and the government they were forming. Since its purpose was for introduction purposes only, the preamble does not say anything about the government in terms of powers or limitations.
Sometimes when people ask what something says, they really mean “What does it mean?” The preamble says that the United States would as good as possible, promote justice and peace, defend the country, help its citizens when they had a need, and provide freedom for all people and all future generations.
History of the United States Constitution
From May to September 1787, the Framers of the Constitution, met in Philadelphia to discuss what needed to be in the Constitution. These men came from all thirteen states and some of them were:
- Benjamin Franklin
- George Washington
- James Madison
- Alexander Hamilton
The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware. The last to ratify was Rhode Island, so by 1789, all the thirteen states had ratified the Constitution and it was officially the law of the land.
The framers knew that the document would need to change as people had new ideas or as conditions changed in the country. This is why they added an amendment process. Amendments must pass Congress with a two thirds majority. The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution is called the Bill of Rights, because they deal with individual freedoms, like freedom of speech and the press, the right to bear arms, and the right to a trial by jury.
Currently there are 27 amendments to the US Constitution. Amendments of major importance include:
- Number 13, which abolished slavery
- Number 15, which gave the right to vote to men of any race
- Number 19, which gave women the right to vote
- Number 26, which set the voting age at 18
From Colony to Nation
The years between 1775 and 1787 were turbulent and trying. It took a war and a lot of work to form an independent country. The 13 colonies declared independence from British rule in 1776 with the Declaration of Independence. It was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. It was signed by 56 men, notably John Hancock, Ben Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, who represented each of the 13 colonies. This came about more than a year after the Revolutionary War started.
In the Declaration of Independence, all the grievances against King George the Third were laid out as well as the fact that the American colonists have certain rights. Even though its purpose was served almost immediately, there is one sentence in it that has stayed alive as a statement of human rights and a foundation for political philosophy. That statement is
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
That sentence and the Preamble to the US Constitution, sum up the purpose for the government of the United States.