Although the Preamble is the most memorized part of the Constitution, it has no legal standing in government, however it does state the government’s authority and outline the government’s duties. “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, 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 seems to be an afterthought, as it was written towards the end of the Constitutional Convention. There were several drafts with the final being written by Gouverneur Morris. However, the Preamble’s words were perfectly developed as each clause completely explains the founders’ beliefs. Take just the first three words, they completely challenge centuries of political thought.
From the development of the nation-state in Europe, kings had ruled by Divine Right. In other words, God chose who should be king, so to go against the king was not just treason but heresy. With such authority the king was not subject to the will of the people – only God. Yet by starting out this document with “We the People,” suddenly the founders are claiming that the government governs by the consent of the people and hence are accountable by and to the people. This was a massive revolutionary change.
The next four words, “of the United States,” established the name of the country as the United States. The Founding Fathers could have gone with a different name here, but they were not quite ready to let state sovereignty go, not completely. We were not America, but a collection of states. We would not see ourselves as Americans until after the Civil War. Before that, we were identified by the states in which we lived (E.g. Virginians or New Yorkers.) When describing the nation, contemporaries would use the plural form, like the United States are, as opposed to us today who use the singular, the United States is. That little difference is huge.
The next clause is just as telling, “to form a more perfect Union.” The Constitution did not create the union; it only made it better. This idea was used later by President Abraham Lincoln to justify the Civil War. The South’s argument for secession was basically that they signed up for the U.S. when they ratified the Constitution. If they opted in, they could opt out. Lincoln, however, disagreed and argued that they were a union before the Constitution and the South did not have the right to destroy it.
The rest of the document describes the five roles of this new government as the founders saw it. First, “establish justice.” In Federalists No. 51 the author wrote, “Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society. It ever has been and ever will be pursued until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit. In a society under the forms of which the stronger faction can readily unite and oppress the weaker, anarchy may as truly be said to reign.” America emerged from a kingdom in which the colonies were forced to follow laws not applied to those in England.
The Preamble states that laws must apply equally to all. I think most of us would agree this is something we are still working on.
Secondly, “insure domestic Tranquility.” Americans were hesitant of creating this new Constitution. One of the events that pushed the states to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention was Shays’ Rebellion.
Between the Annapolis Convention and the Constitutional Convention there was a hubbub in western Massachusetts when ex-Continental Army officer Daniel Shays led a group of protesters against the Massachusetts government. As veterans, they were upset at their treatment, including lack of pay for their services leading to loss of their farms when they returned from the Revolutionary War.
When they marched on Boston, the governor had no recourse. Normally, he would call out the militia, but they were the militia. With no federal authority to call for help, he was forced to pay private militias to put down the rebellion. The job of this new government was to put down such insurrections, as President George Washington would do with the Whiskey Rebellion in Pennsylvania.
Third, “provide for the common defense.” This one is easy: maintain an army. However, in the 19th century this was much different than today. Americans were weary of a standing army in a democracy. Standing armies led to tyranny. America’s army was bare bones for the first century. Militias were meant as the first line of defense, hence the Second Amendment. When wars were fought, volunteers and drafts were required to fill the army’s ranks. America would not maintain a standing army until after WWII.
Fourth, “promote the general Welfare.” While today we see our active government try to control every aspect of our lives, in the 19th century the most the government did was protective tariffs to help new industry and sell cheap land in the West for settlement. Other than that, citizens were really on their own.
Fifth, “Secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.” This one was – and is – a work in progress. While the Constitution was designed to secure freedom for all people forever, in reality, those freedoms are coming in stages. “Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity” is a concept. It is a goal for freedoms that have come as Americans fought over slavery and to ensure equal rights for women and minorities, so those sacred liberties can be a reality for all.
The Preamble, while not legally binding, serves as an interpretative guide to the Constitution. Its aspirational language has been referenced in numerous Supreme Court decisions to understand the broader context and purpose of the Constitution’s provisions.
James Finck is a professor of American history at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. He can be reached at HistoricallySpeaking1776@ gmail.com.
