After ratification, the Constitution became the supreme law. It opens with one sentence, the Preamble. You have already met its six goals as the purposes of government; now read it as the start of a legal document.
Why it works
Compare the Articles of Confederation, which began with the states and called the union "a firm league of friendship" among them. The Preamble, polished by Gouverneur Morris for the Committee of Style in September 1787, begins with "We the People." That choice signals popular sovereignty: the people, not the state governments, are the source of the new government's authority. Anti-Federalists noticed; Patrick Henry asked in Virginia who had authorized the delegates to say "We, the people" instead of "We, the states" (his speech of June 4, 1788).
Key idea
The Preamble begins "We the People" (popular sovereignty) and lists six goals. It states purposes; it does not grant powers.
Worked example: Is the Preamble a source of power?
A city argues that a rule is valid because it "promotes the general Welfare," quoting the Preamble. Does the Preamble give governments that power?
- The Preamble names goals; the powers of the national government are granted in the articles that follow.
- In Jacobson v. Massachusetts (1905) the Court said the Preamble is not itself a source of power. (It upheld the law at issue under the state's own police power instead.)
Answer: No. The rule would need a power from somewhere else, such as a state's police power or a power granted in the Constitution.
Worked example: Reading the opening words
What do the words "We the People" tell us about where the government's authority comes from?
- Who speaks in the sentence? The people.
- What do they do? "ordain and establish this Constitution."
Answer: Authority comes from the people: popular sovereignty.
Common mistake
Thinking the Preamble grants powers, so that anything "for the general Welfare" is allowed. Courts have not treated the Preamble as a source of power. Check: when a question asks which part of the Constitution gives a power, the answer is an article and section, not the Preamble.