The US Constitution, Part One

 By Best in Moderation

There's a lot of discussion that happens online with people calling something constitutional, unconstitutional, violating the principles of the constitution etc etc etc. Yet for all the people who cite it it seems most people have not ever really READ the Constitution. Which, it being one of the shortest legal documents and yet most important legal document of the nation seems a bit odd.

The USA constitution has only seven sections, or "Articles," and one of those is a ratification section with signatories. Other than that there is a one paragraph Preamble, and that's it. So going through it ought not to be that hard.

Let's do that then! Follow along or read ahead here: 

https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript

PART ONE: Preamble to the United States Constitution

In law language, a preamble is "the introductory part of a statute or deed, stating its purpose, aims, and justification." So we can read the US Constitution Preamble as a list of goals not for the nation itself but for the document to enshrine and uphold. Everything listed here will be the desired end result of each power, duty and right established and discussed. So it's pretty important that we read it and list what the goals really are for the document forming our entire national government.

Let's take it piece by piece:

"We the people of the United States"

This establishes whom is creating and is ultimately responsible for this document and its impact. It defines that the people of a group of unified states stand for the following items. Admirable as that may seem, historically it is also a lie; the only people who formed this document were select powerful white landowning men. The regular people of the states forming this union did not have much say, and no women or minorities had so much as an influential voice. 

So while it is important that we remember the context, it is also important that we realize that now, in the 21st century, we all are responsible for the government that exists based on the founding document calling us to action. We The People thus is an important part of the vision of our government.

"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"

This is the list of goals mentioned above. There are a few things to look out for here besides just listing them, and that is the order in which they are written, the capitalization of certain words, and the assumed values not explicitly written. 

"in Order to form a more perfect Union, as the top choice, may seem like an odd one to someone living in modern day USA. But to the Framers of the Constitution, they had just seen an attempt at government fail and were still trying to establish themselves as a union of states, rather than just independent colonies. So having this bold statement up front means they wanted to project confidence in this new nation and that it would bring us all together under one set of laws, rights, duties and powers. 

Note how they highlight the words Order and Union. This is an expression of value, in that Order and Unity were seen as positive things to be achieved and maintained. They are end goals of the law, and as the first ones mentioned, they would appear to be most top of mind to the writers.

Next up is "establish Justice" the shortest and most succinct goal mentioned. This may assume a shared value of what was Justice, though history shows us that even among the Framers that was not the case. But it was a shared value that the goal of Justice ruling over our processes was of utmost importance, and it shows in their simple statement that this document would do such a thing. 

Justice, of course, is highlighted as a value. 

After that we get "insure domestic Tranquility" which is interesting in the choice of words being "insure" rather than the more static "establish" or "protect." By tasking it to ensure Tranquility, the Constitution needs to always reflect the best way for peace and calm. One of the most important factors of this is the peaceful ebb and flow of power, something that was hotly debated by the Framers, and something that historically has been the most difficult goal for the US Constitution to achieve. 

Tranquility is the value word here, and specifically domestic, so the US was not looking to be a peacekeeper outside of its borders. It was hoped that the US Constitution would bring infighting to an end. 

Up next, "provide for the common defence." No capitals here, so this was more a task that meant that the federal government, or at least the laws created by such, not individual states, would protect the common cause of all member states. No state would be left to fend for itself and an attack on one would be an attack on all.

To "promote the general Welfare" is probably the most fiercely debated goal on the list. What counts as "general" welfare? What does it mean to "promote" it? Does this mean the Framers intended the government to keep up with the standards of general welfare or does it mean the items listed were meant to cover the general welfare in perpetuity? It's not clear just from this stated goal, but it is important to note that it IS a goal nonetheless, so the Framers did see a responsibility to the general well-being of its citizens to be of importance. 

Welfare as a value is also capitalized, again highlighting.

Lastly, "and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity" seems to be written to embrace three ideas: that Liberty needs constant vigilance, that this document means to guarantee liberty for the people, and that it is meant to last beyond just the current set of people. Each idea is important, because the actions that need to be taken by a government on all three are hereby established. To secure Liberty, governments must think carefully before enumerating or limiting a legal right. To apply Liberty to the people, governments must be free of organizational interests or at least be unfettered by them when it comes to the people's freedom. To guarantee Liberty to the next people of the nation, laws must grow along with them. It would make little sense, for example, for a law stating 1 million people must vote to establish a government if 1 million people no longer reside in your nation.

Three words are highlighted here: Blessings, Liberty and Posterity. The Framers considered Liberty a Blessing, either from God or from a natural right to freedom, and they were concerned with keeping that freedom for their children. 

The last piece of the Preamble states the action being taken to do all of the above:

"do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." 

It's interesting that they use what's now a synonym here. They ordain AND establish, which is interesting linguistically as ordain means, among other things, to establish in law. Some research into word usage and meaning at the time reveals that the concept here is that they ESTABLISH the Constitution which will ORDAIN the goals mentioned above.

This closing part is also the official statement of record that the document you are reading is the Constitution of the United States of America. I know, it sounds redundant, but it needs to be clearly stated so as not to leave a hint that it's referring to some other text. 

Highlighted Values

The values, as noted above in order, of the Framers of the US Constitution are as follows:

1. People
2. Order
3. Union
4. Justice
5. Tranquility
6. Welfare
7. Blessings
8. Liberty
9. Posterity

Bookended by mentioning human beings, this document was and remains revolutionary in its focus on the citizens of the nation, rather than only the laws that apply to those citizens. 

LAST NOTES

The Preamble is one sentence, but it is one of the most consequential in US Constitutional Law. My interpretation is taken from multiple sources, years of research and a sharp interest in the subject, but it is not the end-all-be-all by far. Read it, study it, figure out for yourself what it means and what it could mean, debate it below, and I'll see you in the next, far more legally solid section.