US Constitution: About the Preamble

"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."

October 2, 2023
•
5 min
"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."

US Constitution: About the Preamble

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US Constitution: Preamble

"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."

Promote General Welfare

ROI of Lobbying

‍

2016 Princeton Study

Notes

  • Alexander Hamilton argued in The Federalist No. 84 that the existence of the Preamble obviated any need for a bill of rights.5
  • In the years following the Constitution's enactment, the Supreme Court of the United States cited the Preamble in several important judicial decisions,7 but the legal weight of the Preamble was largely disclaimed. As Justice Joseph Story noted in his Commentaries, the Preamble never can be resorted to, to enlarge the powers confided to the general government, or any of its departments.8

US Constitution: Preamble

"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."

Promote General Welfare

ROI of Lobbying

‍

2016 Princeton Study

Notes

  • Alexander Hamilton argued in The Federalist No. 84 that the existence of the Preamble obviated any need for a bill of rights.5
  • In the years following the Constitution's enactment, the Supreme Court of the United States cited the Preamble in several important judicial decisions,7 but the legal weight of the Preamble was largely disclaimed. As Justice Joseph Story noted in his Commentaries, the Preamble never can be resorted to, to enlarge the powers confided to the general government, or any of its departments.8