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Preamble to the United States Constitution

United States of America
This article is part of the series: United States Constitution
Original text of the Constitution
Preamble Articles of the Constitution I ∙ II ∙ III ∙ IV ∙ V ∙ VI ∙ VII
Amendments to the Constitution
Bill of Rights I ∙ II ∙ III ∙ IV ∙ V ∙ VI ∙ VII ∙ VIII ∙ IX ∙ X Subsequent Amendments XI ∙ XII ∙ XIII ∙ XIV ∙ XV ∙ XVI XVII ∙ XVIII ∙ XIX ∙ XX ∙ XXI ∙ XXII XXIII ∙ XXIV ∙ XXV ∙ XXVI ∙ XXVII
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The Preamble to the United States Constitution consists of a single sentence (a preamble) which introduces the document and its purpose. The preamble neither grants any governmental powers nor inhibits any of its actions, but serves to explain the reason behind the U.S. Constitution.

Text

Annotations

The preamble of the U.S. Constitution does not assign any powers to the federal government,^[2] yet the Supreme Court has cited from the preamble in consideration of the history, intent and meaning of various clauses which follow it in the Constitution.^[3] As Joseph Story said in his Commentaries, "Its true office is to expound the nature and extent and application of the powers actually conferred by the Constitution, and not substantively to create them."^[4]

The language "We the People" explains that the power and authority of the federal government of the United States does not come from the various states, or even from the peoples of the various states, but rather from the greater entity identified as the people of the United States of America. The Constitution thus serves as a compact or contract between the people of the United States, the several States, and a newly created entity: the federal government of the United States.

The Preamble clarifies that the powers of the federal government are not derivative solely from the States. This would become an issue of contention during the Nullification Crisis which tested the ability of a state to nullify a federal law based upon the premise that the federal government drew its power from the several states and thus a sovereign state was free to ignore a federal law inconsistent with its law. A similar issue arose during the Civil War, which tested the ability of a state, through its people, to secede from the Union, and thus withdraw from the compact.

"The Preamble"

The ABC educational television series, Schoolhouse Rock! had a segment on the Constitution, and put the preamble to song. As a result, many Americans became more familiar with the lyrics of this musical version which incorrectly begins, "We the People, in Order to form a more perfect Union."

Notes

1. ^ In the hand-written engrossed copy of the Constitution maintained in the National Archives, the (British) spelling "defence" is used in the preamble (See the House of Representatives transcription and the Archives' image of the engrossed document). The National Archives transcription, however, uses the spelling "defense".
2. ^ Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11, 22 (1905): "Although that preamble indicates the general purposes for which the people ordained and established the Constitution, it has never been regarded as the source of any substantive power conferred on the government of the United States, or on any of its departments."
3. ^ E.g., the Court has read the preamble as bearing witness to the fact that the Constitution emanated from the people and was not the act of sovereign and independent States, McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 316, 403 (1819); Martin v. Hunter's Lessee, 14 U.S. (1 Wheat.) 304, 324 (1816); Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 U.S. (2 Dall.) 419, 471 (1793), and that it was made for, and is binding only in, the United States of America, Downes v. Bidwell, 182 U.S. 244, 251 (1901); In re Ross, 140 U.S. 453, 464 (1891).
4. ^ Story, Joseph. Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States (Boston: 1833), 462.

External links

• Constitution of the United States at Wikisource
• National Archives