Preamble to the United States Constitution

This article is part of a series on the
Constitution of the United States of America
Preamble and Articles of the Constitution
Preamble I II III IV V VI VII
Amendments to the Constitution
Bill of Rights I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX XXI XXII XXIII XXIV XXV XXVI XXVII
Proposed Amendments
Congressional Apportionment Titles of Nobility Corwin Child Labor Equal Rights D.C. Voting Rights
History
History Articles of Confederation Convention Federalism Republicanism
Full text of the Constitution and Amendments
Preamble & Articles I–VII Amendments I–X Amendments XI–XXVII Unratified Amendments
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The Preamble to the United States Constitution is a brief introduction to the Constitution's purposes and guiding principles. It provides the Founding Fathers' intentions for creating the Constitution and what they hoped the Constitution would achieve. It was added to the Constitution as an afterthought and was not discussed on the floor of the Constitutional Convention nor was it voted on.^[1] Gouverneur Morris, one of the writers of the Constitution, wrote and added it at the last moment.^[1] The Preamble itself did not have any legal meaning. The Supreme Court upheld this view in Jacobson v. Massachusetts (1905).^[1]

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} "Preamble". The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 14 March 2016.