What three-word phrase begins the Preamble to the United States Constitution?

“We the People” begins the Preamble to the United States Constitution.

The phrase introduces the Constitution’s statement of purpose: to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure liberty for current and future generations. It places the source of constitutional authority in the people rather than in a monarch or a single state government.

The Constitution was drafted during the Philadelphia Convention in 1787 and took effect after ratification by the required states in 1788. The Preamble is an introduction, not a separate grant of governmental power, and courts generally use it as context rather than as an independent source of legal authority.

“We the People” is often confused with language from other famous American texts. “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” appears in the Declaration of Independence, while “In God We Trust” is a national motto adopted much later. The constitutional phrase remains one of the best-known openings in political history.