Preamble

The Preamble is the Least Important Part of the Constitution

by Mike Maharrey | Aug 15, 2023 | Constitution, Preamble

Most people are familiar with the Constitution’s preamble. A lot of people were required to memorize it in school. But while the preamble is arguably the best-known part of the Constitution, it is the least important. Like so many other parts of the...

The ideas that formed the Constitution: Jean-Louis DeLolme and “We the People…”

by Rob Natelson | Apr 24, 2023 | Constitution, Founding Principles, Preamble

Writers on the Constitution seldom mention the name of Jean-Louis DeLolme. This is unfortunate, because DeLolme’s book on the English political system significantly influenced those who participated in the constitutional debates of 1787–1790. The Constitution’s...

Understanding the Constitution: The Force of the Preamble

by Rob Natelson | Aug 30, 2021 | Constitution, Preamble

My last essay discussed the style of the Constitution’s preamble. Gouverneur Morris, its principal author, composed a passage that was grand, euphonious, and balanced. This essay addresses the preamble’s substance. The preamble of a legal instrument recites understood...

Understanding the Constitution: the style of the preamble

by Rob Natelson | Aug 16, 2021 | Gouverneur Morris, Preamble

The Constitution begins with an introduction called the “preamble,” a word from the Latin praeambulus, meaning “walking before.” The preamble to a legal instrument identifies the parties, states crucial facts, and/or explains the purpose of the document. The “Whereas”...

The Relevance of the Preamble to Constitutional Interpretation

by Michael Rappaport | Mar 11, 2019 | Constitution, Preamble

The preamble to the United States Constitution is something that is widely employed within political and theoretical arguments but is virtually never relied upon in court cases interpreting the Constitution. Is this treatment correct under the Constitution’s original...

The Poetry in the Constitution’s Preamble

by Rob Natelson | Feb 18, 2018 | Constitution, Gouverneur Morris, Preamble

The person most responsible for the Constitution’s final form was Gouverneur Morris. The Preamble, which begins with “We the People,” is one of the world’s most recognizable bits of prose — prose that, at least in some ways, approaches poetry. Morris had been well...

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