The US Constitution Preamble at a Glance

Preamble to the U.S. Constitution

The Preamble to the U.S. Constitution is the introductory passage of this foundational document for the United States Government and legal infrastructure. In addition to helping people understand the content and application of the U.S. Constitution, the Constitution’s Preamble has also been granted, under the application of U.S. Constitutional legal theory, as having legal and judicial effect in its own right, specifically as a guide to the intentions of the Founding Fathers in drawing up the Constitution.

Text of the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution

“We the People of the United States, 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, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Legal Theories Regarding Constitutional Preamble

According to the judicial theories regarding the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution, this opening passage allows for people to more correctly and applicably discern the document’s “spirit.” As an alternative method of interpretation, legal theories regarding the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution may also focus on parsing the specific wording of the passage, according to the measures provided through close reading. Moreover, the way in which the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted, as with the remainder of this foundational document, can be subject to debate as to whether the original intent of the Founding Fathers should be emphasized over modern exigencies.