Click here for a fun "Schoolhouse Rock" video of the Preamble. Remember this from elementary school??? I do!
The Preamble reads:
"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."
I remember having to memorize the Preamble for a class awhile back. I didn't really care to much about that class, so I only memorized the Preamble for the sake of having to memorize it. And while I still have the Preamble memorized, I don't have much of an understanding of what's going on within the individual passages. Let's dive into the Preamble a bit and find out what each statement within the Preamble means. (These interpretations are entirely based on my opinion and research.)
"We the people of the United States" is pretty straight-forward, don't you think? Ha. It refers to the individual citizens.
"In order to form a more perfect union" = The government (at the time the Constitution was put into effect) was not perfect (and still isn't, in my opinion), but our founding father's had a goal. The word "union" refers to the union of the different states or colonies. The founding father's set out to create a union of the colonies or states so they could win their independence and protect themselves.
"Establish justice" = Set up a fair and equitable system of laws. Under which all citizens should be treated equally and fairly. All people are created equal under the Constitution.
"Insure domestic tranquility" = To maintain law and order (tranquility) within the country (domestic).
"Provide for the common defense" = The government will have the ability and power to protect Americans from foreign enemies.
"Promote the general welfare" = The concern of the government for the health, peace, morality, and safety of its citizens.
"And secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity" = This passage is referring to rights within the Constitution that were promised as a result of the American Revolution. To be free from tyranny, to have the right to be governed by officials they elected themselves, and the right not to be taxed without the opportunity to vote on it as well. These rights were secure not only for themselves, but for future generations (and our posterity). Other rights were added to the Constitution (the Bill of Rights) later on.
"Do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America" = Pretty straight-forward as well. :)
What do you think the individual statements within the Preamble mean?
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