Preamble
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.
The Preamble’s Significance for Constitutional Interpretation
National Constitution Center – constitutioncenter.org. (2015). Interpretation: The Preamble | Constitution Center. [online] Available at: https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/preamble/interpretations/37 [Accessed 20 Jul. 2025].
America has no “unwritten constitution.” Ours is a system of written constitutionalism—of adherence to a single, binding, authoritative, written legal text as supreme law.
The following are extracted quotes by Michael Stokes Paulsen
Distinguished University Chair and Professor at University of St. Thomas School of Law
America has no “unwritten constitution.” Ours is a system of written constitutionalism—of adherence to a single, binding, authoritative, written legal text as supreme law.
None of these institutions of government, created or recognized by the Constitution, is superior to the Constitution itself. None is superior to the ultimate power of the people to adopt, amend, and interpret what is, after all, the Constitution ordained and established by “We the People of the United States.”
James Madison, one of the leading architects of the Constitution, put it best in The Federalist No. 49:
[T]he people are the only legitimate fountain of power, and it is from them that the constitutional charter, under which the several branches of government hold their power, is derived …
Amendment Process
National Constitution Center – constitutioncenter.org. (2025). The 5th Article of the U.S. Constitution. [online] Available at: https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/articles/article-v [Accessed 20 Jul. 2025].
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or …