[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 48 (Tuesday, March 20, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H2722-H2723]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             A WALK THROUGH THE CONSTITUTION: THE PREAMBLE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Garrett) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, we are here today to announce 
a new series of weekly topics for the Congressional Constitution 
Caucus. I found that many Americans, including some of my fellow 
Members, are not as familiar with the Constitution as they might want 
to be.
  Last Thursday this was demonstrated to us when three local 
schoolchildren, ages 8 to 12, came into the office. They were wearing 
these little ``Liberty Day Kids'' T-shirts and buttons, and they 
announced that they were going to door to door in the buildings asking 
congressional offices questions in honor of James Madison's birthday, 
questions such as what is necessary to override a Presidential veto, or 
where do all of the appropriations bills originate from.
  Out of curiosity we asked them if most people had been answering the 
questions correctly, and the children emphatically shook their heads 
no. So tonight and each Tuesday after votes, we hope to help correct 
that problem by taking a walk through the Constitution, and I encourage 
other Members to join us as we educate each other and the Nation about 
our preeminent founding document.
  So we begin by looking at the Preamble of the Constitution. It is 
perhaps one of most well-known sections, the Constitution's 
introductory sentence, which reads, ``We the People of the United 
States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, 
insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, 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.''
  So this passage sums up in a condensed version what the Founders were 
intending in this document. So let's look at some of the phrases.
  The first phrase, ``We the People of the United States.'' Now, these 
words by themselves almost sound trite today, but they were 
groundbreaking pronouncements when they were written. You see, the 
previous document, the Articles of Confederation, was an agreement 
solely between the States, and other earlier documents, including the 
1778 Treaty of Alliance with France and the 1783 Treaty of Paris did 
not even include the word ``people.''
  In convincing Virginia to ratify the Constitution, the Governor 
explained to them why the word was appropriate. He said, ``The 
government is for the people; and the misfortune was, that the people 
had no agency in the government before. If the government is to be 
binding on the people, are not the people the proper persons to examine 
its merits or defects?'' The Constitution therefore binds America 
together.

[[Page H2723]]

  The next phrase is ``In order to form a more perfect Union.'' The 
Founders simply believed that the new government would be stronger than 
the one under the Articles of Confederation. You see, the loose 
confederation of States had led to bickering and ineffective 
government. But this new arrangement of States has allowed the States 
to retain their power, but also work together for the common good.
  Thomas Jefferson wrote therefore, The union is the last anchor of our 
hope.
  The third phrase is ``to establish Justice.''

                              {time}  1915

  This refers to a problem that had arisen in the State court systems. 
And so by creating a Supreme Court of the land, the Framers hoped to 
prevent egregious examples of trampled rights. But the Framers had a 
higher purpose in mind, too. In Federalist No. 51, James Madison wrote: 
``Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society. It 
ever has been and ever will be pursued until it be obtained, or until 
liberty be lost in the pursuit.''
  The next section is to provide for the common defense. This phrase is 
perhaps the most evident today. See, the War for Independence had been 
fought for that very reason; and in the years following the war, our 
fledgling Nation had been unable to defend itself against the Barbary 
pirates and also from Spain and England threats. So the States realized 
they needed to unite to preserve the Union.
  The next one is very important for today. The phrase ``to promote the 
general welfare,'' this has been commonly interpreted to mean that the 
Federal Government can do almost anything as long as it accomplishes 
something beneficial. But you see, this definition ignores the 
Founders' real intent. See, they deliberately used qualifying words 
such as ``general'' because they meant to limit the powers rather than 
expand it. Think about it. Would it be proper and fair for the Federal 
Government to recognize certain groups over other ones, certain States 
over others? If the Founding Fathers didn't intend to create these 
special rights or special privileges or socioeconomic programs, there 
would not have been any reason to list the specific powers that are 
listed in the Constitution.
  James Madison even stated that the ``general welfare'' clause was not 
intended to give Congress an open hand ``to exercise every power which 
may be alleged to be necessary for the common defense or general 
welfare.''
  The final section reads ``to secure the blessings of liberty to 
ourselves and our posterity.'' These words come from the previous 
phrase, for without law, it is impossible to achieve liberty for future 
generations.
  I will close by saying we look forward each week to come to the floor 
on Tuesdays as we walk through the Constitution week after week to 
better understand this important document for this House and for this 
country.

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