Question

"We the people of the states of New-Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina, South-Carolina, and Georgia, do ordain, declare and establish the following constitution for the government of ourselves and our posterity.

Report of the Committee of Detail in the Federal Convention, August 1787, page one
"WE the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence 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."
Report of the Committee of Style in the Federal Convention, September 1787, page one.

1) What arguments would the framers offer for keeping the list of individual states? For replacing the list of states with "the United States"?

2) Consider and compare what each draft explicitly names as the purpose for Constitution. Why might the later draft list "in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, 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" when the early draft says merely "do ordain, declare and establish the following constitution for the government of ourselves and our posterity."

3) Can you come up with an example of how one of the goals stated in the final version of the Preamble is carried out by our government today?

Answer 1

The framers of the Constitution would offer several arguments for keeping the list of individual states in the Preamble. First, they would argue that the states are sovereign entities that have come together to form a federal government. Second, they would argue that the states are the primary units of government in the United States and that the federal government is a creature of the states. Third, they would argue that the states are the source of all political power in the United States and that the federal government is a limited government with specific enumerated powers.

The framers of the Constitution would offer several arguments for replacing the list of states with "the United States" in the Preamble. First, they would argue that the United States is a single entity composed of many states. Second, they would argue that the United States is a federal republic, and that the federal government is the supreme authority in the country. Third, they would argue that the United States is a nation with a single people, and that the federal government represents the interests of all Americans.

One example of how the goals stated in the final version of the Preamble are carried out by our government today is in the area of national defense. The federal government provides for the common defense of the United States by maintaining a military force and by entering into treaties with other countries.