Remember School House Rock? Remember the little song that helped you memorize the preamble to the Constitution? It helped me memorize the words, but it took a lot longer for me to understand the meaning of those words.
The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America
We the people of the United States, in order todo ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America.
- form a more perfect union,
- establish justice,
- ensure domestic tranquility,
- provide for the common defense,
- promote the general welfare, and
- secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity,
That's just the first sentence. The Constitution goes on to spell out our rights and responsibilities. It describes the way we elect the people who will represent our voices in the chambers of government. It establishes what those chambers will be called, how they will be organized, and what the duties of those chambers are.
And because our society grows and evolves over time, our Constitution has been amended 27 times to clarify certain rights, freedoms, and responsibilities.
If you've never read the document, I encourage you to do so. We should all confirm that what we believe we know about our rights and responsibilities, and the way our government works, is accurate. You can find it easily on line. Or you can click here. These are the contents:
Article I outlines the Legislative Branch
Article II outlines the Presidency
Article III outlines the Judiciary
Article IV deals with States rights
Article V describes the amendment process
Article VI spells out the legal status of the Constitution
Article VII explains ratification of the document
The Bill of Rights includes the first 10 amendments
Amendments 11 through 27
