What phrase opens the Preamble to the United States Constitution?
Answer
We the People
“We the People” opens the Preamble to the United States Constitution.
The Preamble is the Constitution’s introductory statement. It explains the broad purposes of the document, including forming a more perfect Union, establishing justice, ensuring domestic tranquility, providing for the common defense, promoting the general welfare, and securing liberty.
The phrase emphasizes that the Constitution derives its authority from the people of the United States. This wording differed from earlier national documents, such as the Articles of Confederation, which described a union of states rather than beginning with the people as the source of national legitimacy.
Gouverneur Morris played the leading role in drafting the final Preamble as chairman of the Constitutional Convention’s Committee of Style. The Constitution was signed in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787, and took effect after ratification by the required states.