The Preamble: who creates the government, and why

The Preamble is one sentence. It names who is acting ("We the People"), what they're doing ("ordain and establish this Constitution") and why (six goals). It doesn't give anyone power, and courts don't decide cases with it. It still matters, because it says where government's authority comes from.

The text

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.

Source: National Archives transcription Verified2

Phrase by phrase

• "We the People of the United States." The authority comes from the people as a whole. The earlier draft listed the states one by one; the final version doesn't.
• "in Order to form a more perfect Union." The Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation, a weak alliance of states with no real national executive or courts. "More perfect" admits the old union existed but didn't work.
• "establish Justice." A national court system and laws applied the same way across the country.
• "insure domestic Tranquility." Keep peace at home.
• "provide for the common defence." One army and navy instead of thirteen.
• "promote the general Welfare." The good of the whole country, not one state. The phrase "general Welfare" shows up again in Article I, Section 8, where it limits the taxing power. In the Preamble it grants nothing.
• "secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity." Protect freedom now and for future generations.
• "do ordain and establish this Constitution." The people enact it, like a law above all other laws.

History

At the Philadelphia Convention in 1787, the first draft of the Preamble began by naming the states. After the draft went to the Committee of Style on September 8, 1787, the committee, led by Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania, "replaced the opening phrase of the Constitution with the now-familiar introduction" "We, the People of the United States" Verified3. The Constitution Annotated notes one practical reason given by historians: no one could know which of the thirteen states would ratify, so naming them all made little sense. The Convention records are silent on why the committee made the change Verified3.

How courts read it

The Supreme Court settled the Preamble's legal effect in 1905. Massachusetts required smallpox vaccination, and Henning Jacobson argued the law violated rights secured by the Preamble. The Court answered that the Preamble "indicates the general purposes for which the people ordained and established the Constitution," but "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" (Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905)) Verified1.

Jacobson matters for a second reason: it upheld a state's police power to protect public health. That power belongs to states, and California passes part of it to cities (see Article XI). The federal government has no general police power at all; it has only the powers the Constitution lists.

Courts sometimes cite the Preamble to explain the Constitution's purpose, especially "We the People." In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), Chief Justice Marshall leaned on it to reject the claim that the states, not the people, created the national government: "The government proceeds directly from the people; is 'ordained and established' in the name of the people" (McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 316 (1819)) Verified4.

How it reaches Williams

It doesn't, directly. The Preamble creates no rights you can enforce against any government, federal, state or city. California's constitution has its own preamble, and the same rule applies: it states a purpose, nothing more Verified5.

In Williams

The idea in the Preamble, that government power is borrowed from the people, is written as a working rule in California's constitution: "All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for their protection, security, and benefit, and they have the right to alter or reform it when the public good may require" (Cal. Const., Art. II, §1) Verified5. That's the clause behind the initiative, the referendum and the recall, which Williams voters can use on city matters. See California Article II.

Common misconceptions

• "The general Welfare phrase lets the government do anything good." No. In the Preamble it grants nothing Verified1. The taxing clause in Article I, Section 8 uses the same words, and there it limits what taxes can pay for.
• "The Preamble protects my rights." It doesn't create any. Your rights come from the amendments and specific clauses.
• "The states created the Constitution." It was ratified by state conventions, but the Preamble and McCulloch say the people did Verified4.

Check yourself

Pick an answer for each question. You will see right away if it is right, and why.