Who wrote the Preamble to the US Constitution?
Gouverneur Morris
Gouverneur Morris I (30 January 1752 – 6 November 1816) was an American statesman, a Founding Father of the United States, and a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. He wrote the Preamble to the United States Constitution and has been called the "Penman of the Constitution." In an era when most Americans thought of themselves as citizens of their respective states, Morris advanced the idea of being a citizen of a single union of states. He represented New York in the United States Senate from 1800 to 1803.
Second Amendment to the United States Constitution
In 1792, Tench Coxe made the following point in a commentary on the Second Amendment:
The earliest published commentary on the Second Amendment by a major constitutional theorist was by St. George Tucker. He annotated a five-volume edition of Sir William Blackstone's "Commentaries on the Laws of England", a critical legal reference for early American attorneys published in 1803. Tucker wrote:
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
Madison wrote this in 1799, when he was in a dispute about the constitutionality of the Alien and Sedition Laws, which was legislation enacted in 1798 by President John Adams' Federalist Party to ban seditious libel. Madison believed that legislation to be unconstitutional, and his adversaries in that dispute, such as John Marshall, advocated the narrow freedom of speech that had existed in the English common law.
History of copyright law of the United States
Prior to the passage of the United States Constitution, several states passed their own copyright laws between 1783 and 1787, the first being Connecticut. Contemporary scholars and patriots such as Noah Webster, John Trumbull (poet), and Joel Barlow were instrumental in securing the passage of these statutes.
Preamble to the United States Constitution
The Preamble to the United States Constitution is a brief introductory statement of the Constitution's fundamental purposes and guiding principles. It states in general terms, and courts have referred to it as reliable evidence of the Founding Fathers' intentions regarding the Constitution's meaning and what they hoped the Constitution would achieve.
James Wilson
Wilson was a delegate to the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, and served on the Committee of Detail, which produced the first draft of the United States Constitution. Along with Roger Sherman, he proposed the Three-Fifths Compromise, which counted slaves as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of representation in the United States House of Representatives. He also proposed the Electoral College. After the convention, he campaigned for the ratification of the document, and his "speech in the statehouse yard" was reprinted in newspapers throughout the country. He also played a major role in drafting the 1790 Pennsylvania Constitution.
Signing of the United States Constitution
The names of thirty-nine delegates are inscribed upon the proposed constitution. Among them is John Dickinson, who, indisposed by illness, authorized George Read to sign his name by proxy. Additionally, the convention's secretary, William Jackson, while not himself a delegate, signed the document to authenticate the results of the Convention's sessions and the signatures. George Washington, as president of the Convention, signed first, followed by the other delegates, grouped by states in progression from north to south. Washington, however, signed near the right margin of the page, and when the delegates ran out of space they began a second column of signatures to the left.
United States Constitution
British political philosopher John Locke following the Glorious Revolution (1688) was a major influence expanding on the contract theory of government advanced by Thomas Hobbes. Locke advanced the principle of consent of the governed in his "Two Treatises of Government". Government's duty under a social contract among the sovereign people was to serve the people by protecting their rights. These basic rights were life, liberty and property.
A More Perfect Union: Advancing New American Rights
The title of the book comes from the Preamble to the United States Constitution. The preamble includes the phrase "in Order to form a more perfect Union" as the first specifically mentioned purpose of the United States Constitution.
National Monument to the U.S. Constitution
The National Monument to the U.S. Constitution was officially dedicated at its unveiling at Independence Hall in Philadelphia by Ronald Reagan on the bicentennial, September 17, 1987. Both monuments were officially recognized, along with the five bronze original replica plaques, by the artist, of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation
The need for a comprehensive guide to the interpretation of the Constitution was apparent to Congress from early in the 20th century. In 1911, the Senate Manual contained the United States Constitution and Amendments with citations to decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court concerning constitutional law. The first edition of the Constitution Annotated was published by the 63rd Congress as Senate Document 12, in 1913. Ten years later in 1923, another edition was published, Senate Document 96 of the 67th Congress, followed in turn by Senate Document 154 of the 68th Congress.
Richard B. Morris
Richard Brandon Morris (July 24, 1904 – March 3, 1989) was an American historian best known for his pioneering work in colonial American legal history and the early history of American labor. In later years, he shifted his research interests to the constitutional, diplomatic, and political history of the American Revolution and the making of the United States Constitution.
Constitution of Australia
While a "pro forma" preamble prefaces the Imperial Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900, the Australian Constitution itself does not contain a preamble. There have been some calls for the insertion of such a section to express the spirit and aspirations embodied in the constitution. However, there has been fierce opposition, usually on the basis of the content of the preamble, as well as possible legal ramifications of this text. In 1999, a proposed preamble, principally authored by John Howard, the then Prime Minister, was defeated in a referendum held concurrently with the Republic referendum. The "Yes" vote (in favour of the insertion of the preamble) did not achieve a majority in any of the six states.
Preamble to the Constitution of Georgia (U.S. state)
The Preamble does not assign any powers to the state government or provide specific limitations on government action. Despite the limited nature of the Preamble it has been cited in the courts. For example, the Preamble was cited in the cases of "Roberts v. Ravenwood Church of Wicca", "Dixon v. Dixon", "Clabough v. Rachwal" and "Arnold v. Arnold".
Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States
Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States is a famous oil-on-canvas painting by Howard Chandler Christy, depicting the Constitutional Convention signing the U.S. Constitution at Independence Hall in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787. Along with "Washington Crossing the Delaware" by Emanuel Leutze, the painting is one of the most famous depictions of the early days of the United States. Christy created the painting in April 1940; it is so large (20 × 30') that he painted it in a sail loft. It currently is displayed along the east stairway in the House of Representatives wing in the Capitol building.
History of the United States Constitution
Current knowledge of drafting the Constitution comes primarily from the Journal left by James Madison, found chronologically incorporated in Max Farrand's "The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787", which included the Convention Journal and sources from other Federalists and Anti-Federalists.
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
Thomas Jefferson wrote with respect to the First Amendment and its restriction on the legislative branch of the federal government in an 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptists (a religious minority concerned about the dominant position of the Congregational church in Connecticut):
David Brearley
David Brearley (often misspelled for "Brearly") (June 11, 1745 – August 16, 1790) was a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention and signed the U.S. Constitution on behalf of New Jersey.
Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The amendment was proposed by the 1st United States Congress in 1789 during its first term following the adoption of the Constitution. It was considered by many members as a prerequisite to many state ratifications of the Constitution and particularly to satisfy demands of Anti-Federalists who opposed the creation of a stronger federal government.
Preamble to the Constitution of Georgia (U.S. state)
An instance of the courts utilizing the Preamble to the Constitution is "Roberts v. Ravenwood Church of Wicca" 249 Ga. 348 (1982). The case concerned an ad valorem tax dispute between Fulton County's tax authority and the Ravenwood Church of Wicca. Primarily, this issue was centered around the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment regarding whether or not the Ravenwood Church of Wicca was a religion and, thus, exempt from the ad valorem tax. The majority of the justices concurred, barring Chief Justice C.J. Jordan and Justice J. Clarke. The former based his dissent on the portion of the Preamble which states "relying upon the protection and guidance of Almighty God" and went on to define God as "the Being perfect in power, wisdom and goodness whom men worship as creator and ruler of the universe."
James Madison Freedom of Information Award
The award is intended to reflect the spirit of former U.S. statesman and president James Madison, traditionally regarded as the "Father of the United States Constitution" and primary author behind the George Mason-inspired United States Bill of Rights, and in particular the First Amendment.
John Morton (American politician)
John Morton (1725 – April 1, 1777) was a farmer, surveyor, and jurist from the Province of Pennsylvania and a Founding Father of the United States. As a delegate to the Continental Congress during the American Revolution, he was a signatory to the Continental Association and the United States Declaration of Independence. Morton provided the swing vote that allowed Pennsylvania to vote in favor of the United States Declaration of Independence. Morton chaired the committee that wrote the Articles of Confederation.
James Madison
James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751 – June 28, 1836) was an American statesman and Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. He is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Freedom of religion in the United States
Thomas Jefferson wrote that the First Amendment erected a "wall of separation between church and state" likely borrowing the language from Roger Williams, founder of the First Baptist Church in America and the Colony of Rhode Island, who used the phrase in his 1644 book, "The Bloody Tenent of Persecution". James Madison, often regarded as the "Father of the Bill of Rights", also often wrote of the "perfect separation", "line of separation", "strongly guarded as is the separation between religion and government in the Constitution of the United States", and "total separation of the church from the state". Madison explicitly credited Martin Luther as the theorist who "led the way" in providing the proper distinction between the civil and the ecclesiastical spheres with his doctrine of the two kingdoms.
History of copyright law of the United States
At the Constitutional Convention of 1787 both James Madison of Virginia and Charles C. Pinckney of South Carolina submitted proposals that would allow Congress the power to grant copyright for a limited time. These proposals are the origin of the Copyright Clause in the United States Constitution, which states:
South Bronx
The South Bronx was originally called the Manor of Morrisania, and later Morrisania. It was the private domain of the powerful and aristocratic Morris family, which includes Lewis Morris, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Gouverneur Morris, the penman of the United States Constitution. The Morris memorial is at St. Ann's Church of Morrisania. Morris' descendants own land in the South Bronx to this day.
General welfare clause
The United States Constitution contains two references to "the General Welfare", one occurring in the Preamble and the other in the Taxing and Spending Clause. The U.S. Supreme Court has held the mention of the clause in the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution "has never been regarded as the source of any substantive power conferred on the Government of the United States or on any of its Departments."
Preamble to the United States Constitution
The courts have shown interest in any clues they can find in the Preamble regarding the Constitution's meaning. Courts have developed several techniques for interpreting the meaning of statutes and these are also used to interpret the Constitution. As a result, the courts have said that interpretive techniques that focus on the exact text of a document should be used in interpreting the meaning of the Constitution. Balanced against these techniques are those that focus more attention on broader efforts to discern the meaning of the document from more than just the wording; the Preamble is also useful for these efforts to identify the "spirit" of the Constitution.
Tinryland
Pierce Butler of "Garryhundon" was one of the architects of the American Constitution and was one of its signatories in Philadelphia in 1788. He went on to represent South Carolina at George Washington's Presidential Inauguration. He went on to become adviser to three consecutive presidents and turned down a nomination to run for the Vice-Presidency before his death in 1822.
Samuel Johnson (American educator)
Johnson taught many students in his 59 yearlong career as a teacher in Connecticut and New York. His most important pupil was one of the founders of the American Republic: Johnson was the father of Dr. William Samuel Johnson, a Founding Father of the United States, who attended the Stamp Act Congress, the Continental Congress, the United States Federal Constitutional Convention, and was the first U.S. Senator from Connecticut at the 1st United States Congress; he was "the only man who attended all four united congresses" that founded America. He followed his father's footsteps, attending Yale, and becoming president of Columbia College. A lawyer often called to argue in inter-state disputes, and a Colonial Agent to England from 1767 to 1772, William Samuel Johnson is best known as the Chairman of the Committee of Style that wrote the U.S. Constitution: edits to a draft version are in his hand in the Library of Congress.
Preamble to the United States Constitution
The Preamble serves solely as an introduction, and does not assign powers to the federal government, nor does it provide specific limitations on government action. Due to the Preamble's limited nature, no court has ever used it as a decisive factor in case adjudication, except as regards frivolous litigation.
Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States
In his preface Story writes:
Constitutional Convention (United States)
Manasseh Cutler came directly from the capital in New York and found himself a frequent dinner guest among the delegates. He carried grants of five million acres to parcel out among The Ohio Company and "speculators", including some who were attending the Convention. A Philadelphia guest of Robert Morris, Noah Webster would write a pamphlet immediately after the signing. "Leading Principles of the Federal Convention" advocated adoption of the Constitution. It was published much earlier and more widely circulated than today's better known Federalist Papers.
Preamble
In France, the preamble to the constitution of the Fifth Republic of 1958 was considered ancillary and therefore non-binding until a major jurisprudential reversal by the Constitutional Council in a decision of 16 July 1971. This decision, which began with the words "Having regard to the constitution and its preamble," affected a considerable change of French constitutional law, as the preamble and the texts it referred to, the Declaration of the Rights of Man of 1789 and the preamble to the constitution of the Fourth Republic, took their place alongside the constitution proper as texts understood as being invested with constitutional value.
An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States
Historian Carl L. Becker in "History of Political Parties in the Province of New York, 1760–1776" (1909) formulated the Progressive interpretation of the American Revolution. He said there were two revolutions: one against Britain to obtain home rule, and the other to determine who should rule at home. Charles A. Beard in "An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States" (1913) and "Economic Origins of Jeffersonian Democracy" (1915) extended Becker's thesis down to 1800 in terms of class conflict. To Beard, the Constitution was a counter-revolution, set up by rich bond holders (bonds were "personal property"), in opposition to the farmers and planters (land was "real property.") The Constitution, Beard argued, was designed to reverse the radical democratic tendencies unleashed by the Revolution among the common people, especially farmers and debtors (people who owed money to the rich). In 1800, said Beard, the farmers and debtors, led by plantation slaveowners, overthrew the capitalists and established Jeffersonian democracy.
Constitution of Puerto Rico
The Preamble of the Constitution of Puerto Rico is more extensive than the Preamble to the United States Constitution. However, it has the similarity that the preamble neither grants any powers nor inhibits any actions; it only explains the rationale behind the Constitution. Yet, it specifically details the determining factors that the Puerto Rican people have chosen as the basis for their new government. It also establishes the Constitution's loyalty to the "principles" of the Federal Constitution.
National Monument to the U.S. Constitution
The National Monument to the U.S. Constitution (also known as the Constitution Bicentennial Monument) is a monument commissioned of Australian artist Brett-Livingstone Strong by Warren E. Burger, Chairman of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution. One of a pair created by Strong to commemorate historic anniversaries, along with The United States Presidency Monument, it was dedicated by President Ronald Reagan at Independence Hall in Philadelphia on September 17, 1987. Both monuments are the property of the Global EventMakers,Inc., a Florida-based company with principal offices in Richmond, Virginia. The monument has been transported for display at several public events around the country and was scheduled to begin a twenty-city traveling exhibit as part of the Spirit of Freedom Tour beginning in September 2009. Due to poor economic conditions, The Tour never commenced; however the Monuments accompanying original replicas of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights are being produced for placement in America's schools. All rights to the Constitution Monument and the Original Replicas of the Constitution were transferred to The American Constitution Spirit Foundation, a Virginia non-profit, in March 2010. The Foundation plans to find a permanent home for the monument during 2013.
Preamble to the United States Constitution
The phrase "People of the United States" has long been understood to mean "nationals and citizens." This approach reasons that, if the political community speaking for itself in the Preamble (""We" the People") includes only U.S. nationals and citizens, by negative implication it specifically excludes aliens and foreign nationals. It has also been construed to mean something like "all under the sovereign jurisdiction and authority of the United States." The phrase has been construed as affirming that the national government created by the Constitution derives its sovereignty from the people, (whereas "United Colonies" had identified external monarchical sovereignty) as well as confirming that the government under the Constitution was intended to govern and protect "the people" directly, as one society, instead of governing only the states as political units. The Court has also understood this language to mean that the sovereignty of the government under the U.S. Constitution is superior to that of the States. Stated in negative terms, the Preamble has been interpreted as meaning that the Constitution was not the act of sovereign and independent states.
Preamble to the Constitution of India
The preamble to the Constitution of India is a brief introductory statement that sets out guidelines to guide people and to present the principles of the document, and to indicate the source from which the ordinary document derives its authority, meaning, and the people. The hopes and aspirations of the people as well as the ideals before our nation are described in the preamble in clear words. The preamble can be referred to as the preface which highlights the entire Constitution. It was adopted on 26 November 1949 by the Constituent Assembly and came into effect on 26 January 1950, which is celebrated as the Republic day in India.
Federalist Era
The United States Constitution was written at the 1787 Philadelphia Convention and ratified by the states in 1788, taking effect in 1789. During the 1780s, the United States had operated under the Articles of Confederation, which was essentially a treaty of thirteen sovereign states. Domestic and foreign policy challenges convinced many in the United States of the need for a new constitution that provided for a stronger national government. The supporters of ratification of the Constitution were called Federalists while the opponents were called Anti-Federalists. The immediate problem faced by the Federalists was not simply one of acceptance of the Constitution but the more fundamental concern of legitimacy for the government of the new republic. With this challenge in mind, the new national government needed to act with the idea that every act was being carried out for the first time and would therefore have great significance and be viewed along the lines of the symbolic as well as practical implications. The first elections to the new United States Congress returned heavy Federalist majorities. George Washington, who had presided over the Philadelphia Convention, was unanimously chosen as the first President of the United States by the Electoral College.
Mercy Otis Warren
During the debate over the United States Constitution in 1788, she issued a pamphlet, "Observations on the new Constitution, and on the Federal and State Conventions" written under the pseudonym "A Columbian Patriot", that opposed ratification of the document and advocated the inclusion of a Bill of Rights. "Observations" was long thought to be the work of other writers, most notably Elbridge Gerry. It was not until her descendant, Charles Warren, found a reference to it in a 1787 letter to British historian, Catharine Macaulay, that Warren was accredited authorship. In 1790, she published a collection of poems and plays under her own name, a highly unusual occurrence for a woman at the time. In 1805, she published one of the earliest histories of the American Revolution, a three-volume "History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution", the first history of the American Revolution authored by a woman (followed only by Ms. Courtney Mitchell of Ala.).
Jackson Morton
On January 17, 1861, Morton was appointed to be a delegate to the Montgomery Convention for constructing a provisional Confederate government. On February 4, 1861, the delegates met and drafted the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States which was signed by Morton and the rest of the delegates four days later. The delegates at this convention became the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States. He served for the duration of the Provisional Congress and, in the month following the Provisional Constitution, he also signed its successor, the Confederate States Constitution. Morton and Augustus Maxwell were the only people to represent Florida in both the United States Congress and the Confederate States Congress.
Founding Fathers of the United States
Historian Richard B. Morris in 1973 identified the following seven figures as the key Founding Fathers: Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington. Adams, Jefferson, and Franklin were members of the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration of Independence. Hamilton, Madison, and Jay were authors of "The Federalist Papers", advocating ratification of the Constitution. The constitutions drafted by Jay and Adams for their respective states of New York (1777) and Massachusetts (1780) were heavily relied upon when creating language for the U.S. Constitution. Jay, Adams, and Franklin negotiated the Treaty of Paris (1783) that would end the American Revolutionary War. Washington was Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army and was President of the Constitutional Convention. All held additional important roles in the early government of the United States, with Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison serving as President. Jay was the nation's first Chief Justice, Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury, and Franklin was America's most senior diplomat, and later the governmental leader of Pennsylvania.
Catholic Church in the United States
In 1787 two Catholics, Daniel Carroll of the Irish O'Carrolls and Irish born Thomas Fitzsimons, helped draft the new United States Constitution. In 1791, the First Amendment stated, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."
Christopher Memminger
Christopher Gustavus Memminger (born Christoph Gustav Memminger; January 9, 1803 – March 7, 1888) was a German-born American politician and one of the founding fathers of the Confederate States. He was the principal author of the Provisional Constitution (1861), as well as the founder of the nation's financial system. As the first Confederate States Secretary of the Treasury, Memminger was the main author of the economic policies of the Jefferson Davis administration.
Preamble to the United States Constitution
The Preamble's reference to the "United States of America" has been interpreted over the years to explain the nature of the governmental entity that the Constitution created (i.e., the federal government). In contemporary international law, the world consists of sovereign states (or "sovereign nations" in modern equivalent). A state is said to be "sovereign," if any of its ruling inhabitants are the supreme authority over it; the concept is distinct from mere land-title or "ownership." While each state was originally recognized as sovereign unto itself, the Supreme Court held that the "United States of America" consists of only one sovereign nation with respect to foreign affairs and international relations; the individual states may not conduct foreign relations. Although the Constitution expressly delegates to the federal government only some of the usual powers of sovereign governments (such as the powers to declare war and make treaties), all such powers inherently belong to the federal government as the country's representative in the international community.
James Schouler
James Schouler (March 20, 1839 – 1920) was an American lawyer and historian best known for his historical work "History of the United States under the Constitution, 1789–1865".
A More Perfect Constitution
A More Perfect Constitution is a book published by American political scientist at the University of Virginia, Larry J. Sabato, in which he proposes a constitutional convention to substantially overhaul the United States Constitution. He points out that after the Bill of Rights, there have only been seventeen constitutional amendments over the past 220 years. He argues that a constitutional convention is overdue and is something that the Founding Fathers would have wanted. He offers 23 proposals for revising the Constitution.
United States Constitution
From August 6 to September 10, the report of the committee of detail was discussed, section by section and clause by clause. Details were attended to, and further compromises were effected. Toward the close of these discussions, on September 8, a "Committee of Style and Arrangement" – Alexander Hamilton (New York), William Samuel Johnson (Connecticut), Rufus King (Massachusetts), James Madison (Virginia), and Gouverneur Morris (Pennsylvania) – was appointed to distill a final draft constitution from the twenty-three approved articles. The final draft, presented to the convention on September 12, contained seven articles, a preamble and a closing endorsement, of which Morris was the primary author. The committee also presented a proposed letter to accompany the constitution when delivered to Congress.
Second Constitutional Convention of the United States
While there is no precedent for such a convention, scholars have noted that the original 1787 Convention, itself, was the first precedent, as it had only been authorized to amend the Articles of Confederation, not to draw up an entirely new frame of government. According to "The New York Times", the action by the Founding Fathers set up a precedent that could be used today. But, since 1787, there has not been an overall constitutional convention. Instead, each time the amendment process has been initiated since 1789, it has been initiated by Congress. All 33 amendments submitted to the states for ratification originated there. The convention option, which Alexander Hamilton (writing in The Federalist No. 85) believed would serve as a barrier "against the encroachments of the national authority", has yet to be successfully invoked, although not for lack of activity in the states.
Constitution of Georgia (U.S. state)
The Preamble to the Georgia State Constitution is a brief introductory statement describing the principles which the Constitution is meant to serve. It expresses in general terms the intentions of its authors. It does not grant nor prohibit any authority to the state government. However, it has at times been used by the Supreme Court of Georgia to help in deciding a case. For instance, the Preamble was cited in 1982 in Roberts v. Ravenwood Church of Wicca, and later the portion of the Preamble which states ""...promote the interest and happiness of the citizen and of the family..."" was used in several court cases regarding family issues such as Clabough v. Rachwal, Dixon v. Dixon and Arnold v. Arnold.
SS Gouverneur Morris
SS "Gouverneur Morris" (Hull Number 1627) was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Gouverneur Morris, author of large sections of the United States Constitution, including the Preamble.
James Wilson
James Wilson (September 14, 1742 – August 21, 1798) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. Wilson was elected twice to the Continental Congress, where he represented Pennsylvania, and was a major force in drafting the United States Constitution. A leading legal theorist, he was one of the six original justices appointed by George Washington to the Supreme Court of the United States.
Susan Loy
Loy’s hand-lettering of the U.S. Constitution project began after the September 11 attacks in 2001 when she was stopped by the police of three separate occasions beginning in May 2002. She began her Constitution paintings with the preamble. Susan spoke to several school classes on Constitution Day, September 17, 2007.
Living Constitution
The living constitution's proponents assert that Randolph's injunction to use "simple and precise language, and general propositions," such that the Constitution could "be accommodated to times and events," is evidence of the "genius" of the Constitutional framers. 
James Madison, principal author of the U.S. Constitution and often called the "Father of the Constitution," said this in argument for original intent and against changing the Constitution by evolving language:
List of amendments to the United States Constitution
Thirty-three amendments to the United States Constitution have been proposed by the United States Congress and sent to the states for ratification since the Constitution was put into operation on March 4, 1789. Twenty-seven of these, having been ratified by the requisite number of states, are part of the Constitution. The first ten amendments were adopted and ratified simultaneously and are known collectively as the Bill of Rights. Six amendments adopted by Congress and sent to the states have not been ratified by the required number of states. Four of these amendments are still technically open and pending, one is closed and has failed by its own terms, and one is closed and has failed by the terms of the resolution proposing it.
Preamble to the United Nations Charter
The opening phrase "We the peoples of the United Nations .." echoing that of the United States Constitution, was suggested by US congressman and Conference delegate Sol Bloom. The preambulatory phrase "In Larger Freedom" became the title of a UN reform proposal by the seventh Secretary-General, Kofi Annan.
John Witherspoon
John Knox Witherspoon (February 5, 1723 – November 15, 1794) was a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister and a Founding Father of the United States. Witherspoon embraced the concepts of Scottish common sense realism, and while president of the College of New Jersey (1768–1794; now Princeton University), became an influential figure in the development of the United States' national character. Politically active, Witherspoon was a delegate from New Jersey to the Second Continental Congress and a signatory to the July 4, 1776, Declaration of Independence. He was the only active clergyman and the only college president to sign the Declaration. Later, he signed the Articles of Confederation and supported ratification of the Constitution. In 1789 he was convening moderator of the First General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.
Columbia College (New York)
Many eminent individuals have attended or taught at Columbia College or King's College, its predecessor.
Among those College alumni categorized as "remarkable" by the university during its 250th anniversary celebrations in 2004 were Founding Fathers of the United States Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and Gouverneur Morris (author of Preamble to U.S. Constitution, "We, The People"). Other political figures in this group include statesman and educator Nicholas Murray Butler, New York Governor DeWitt Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, South African anti-apartheid leader Pixley ka Isaka Seme, Chinese diplomat Wellington Koo, many New York City mayors, including Seth Low and John Purroy Mitchel, as well as spymaster William Joseph Donovan.
Articles of Confederation
John Dickinson (Delaware), Daniel Carroll (Maryland) and Gouverneur Morris (New York), along with Sherman and Robert Morris, were the only five people to sign both the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution (Gouverneur Morris represented Pennsylvania when signing the Constitution).
Third Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Third Amendment was introduced in Congress in 1789 by James Madison as a part of the United States Bill of Rights, in response to Anti-Federalist objections to the new Constitution. Congress proposed the amendment to the states on September 28, 1789, and by December 15, 1791, the necessary three-quarters of the states had ratified it. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson announced the adoption of the amendment on March 1, 1792.
Article One of the Constitution of Georgia (U.S. State)
Article One of the Georgia State Constitution describes the Georgia Bill of Rights, a set of forty paragraphs which enumerate the Rights of Persons, the Origin and Structure of Government and other General Provisions. The Georgia Bill of Rights was written by Thomas R.R. Cobb under the title "Declaration of Fundamental Principals", as part of the Georgia Constitution of 1861 when the State of Georgia seceded from the United States of America and joined the Confederate States of America.
First inauguration of George W. Bush
On the eve of the inauguration, there was a celebration for U.S. authors hosted by Laura Bush at DAR Constitution Hall. Wayne Newton, Brooks & Dunn, and Ricky Martin performed as the pre-inaugural entertainment.
Signing of the United States Constitution
On September 8, 1787, a Committee of Style, with different members, was impaneled to distill a final draft constitution from the twenty-three approved articles. The final draft, presented to the convention on September 12, contained seven articles, a preamble, and a closing statement, cleverly written by Gouverneur Morris so as to make the constitution seem unanimous. The committee also presented a proposed letter to accompany the constitution when delivered to the Congress of the Confederation.
Adam Winkler
Along with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Leonard Levy and UCLA School of Law professor Kenneth Karst, Winkler edited the six-volume "Encyclopedia of the American Constitution".
An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States
"An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States" argues that the structure of the [Constitution of the United States] was motivated primarily by the personal financial interests of the Founding Fathers; Beard contends that the authors of "[The Federalist Papers]" represented an interest group themselves. More specifically, Beard contends that the Constitutional Convention was attended by, and the Constitution was therefore written by, a "cohesive" elite seeking to protect its personal property (especially federal bonds) and economic standing. Beard examined the occupations and property holdings of the members of the convention from tax and census records, contemporaneous news accounts, and biographical sources, demonstrating the degree to which each stood to benefit from various Constitutional provisions. Beard pointed out, for example, that George Washington was the wealthiest landowner in the country, and had provided significant funding towards the Revolution. Beard traces the Constitutional guarantee that the newly formed nation would pay its debts to the desire of Washington and similarly situated lenders to have their costs refunded.
Constitution of Virginia
The preparation of the first Virginia Constitution began in early 1776, in the midst of the early events of the American Revolution. Among those who drafted the 1776 Constitution were George Mason and James Madison. Thomas Jefferson was Virginia's representative to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia at the time, and his drafts of the Virginia constitution arrived too late to be incorporated into the final document. James Madison's work on the Virginia Constitution helped him develop the ideas and skills that he would later use as one of the main architects of the United States Constitution.
John Rutledge
After briefly returning to Congress, Rutledge was appointed to the South Carolina Court of Chancery. He was a delegate to the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, which wrote the United States Constitution. During the convention, he served as Chairman of the Committee of Detail, which produced the first full draft of the Constitution. The following year he also participated in the South Carolina convention to ratify Constitution.
Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
On June 8, 1789, Congressman James Madison introduced several proposed constitutional amendments during a speech to the House of Representatives. His draft language that later became the Fifth Amendment was as follows:
United States Constitution
Neither the Convention which drafted the Constitution, nor the Congress which sent it to the thirteen states for ratification in the autumn of 1787, gave it a lead caption. To fill this void, the document was most often titled "A frame of Government" when it was printed for the convenience of ratifying conventions and the information of the public. This "Frame of Government" consisted of a preamble, seven articles and a signed closing endorsement.
George Winterton
He also proposed a new preamble for the Constitution and amendments necessary to reflect a minimalist Republican model. George spelt out certain principles which should guide the formulation of a new constitutional preamble. They were reflective of his own personality and approach to legal issues. Shortly they were:
1. A conservative principle -- the existing preamble should be retained as far as possible for constitutional continuity and social harmony.
2. The preamble should be honest. It should not make promises about rights which the Constitution itself would not deliver.
3. The prose should be pithy, avoiding jargon and platitude.
4. It should embody only the most fundamental, uncontroversial and universally acceptable values.
5. It should avoid provisions likely to have legal effect. They should be found in the body of the Constitution.
His proposed preamble was founded upon the notion of popular sovereignty and ended with the words: "We, the people of Australia, do hereby enact and give to ourselves this Constitution."
A Gedenkschrift in celebration of his life and learning has been published: H. P. Lee and Peter Gerangelos (eds), "Constitutional Advancement in a Frozen Continent: Essays in Honour of George Winterton" (2009).
United States Constitution
The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States. The Constitution, originally comprising seven articles, delineates the national frame of government. Its first three articles embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, whereby the federal government is divided into three branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress (Article One); the executive, consisting of the President (Article Two); and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts (Article Three). Articles Four, Five and Six embody concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments, the states in relationship to the federal government, and the shared process of constitutional amendment. Article Seven establishes the procedure subsequently used by the thirteen States to ratify it. It is regarded as the oldest written and codified national constitution in force.
Two kingdoms doctrine
James Madison, the principal author of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, explicitly credited Martin Luther as the theorist who "led the way" in providing the proper distinction between the civil and the ecclesiastical spheres.
History of the United States Constitution
University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato advocates an amendment to organize presidential primaries. Sabato details more objections in his book "A More Perfect Constitution".
Nathaniel Gorham
For several months in 1787, Gorham served as one of the Massachusetts delegates to the United States Constitutional Convention. Gorham frequently served as Chairman of the Convention's Committee of the Whole, meaning that he (rather than the President of the Convention, George Washington) presided over convention sessions during the delegates' first deliberations on the structure of the new government in late May and June 1787. After the convention, he worked hard to see that the Constitution was approved in his home state.
In connection with Oliver Phelps, he purchased from the state of Massachusetts in 1788 pre-emption rights to an immense tract of land in western New York State which straddled the Genesee River, all for the sum of $1,000,000 (about $ today) (the Phelps and Gorham Purchase). The land in question had been previously ceded to Massachusetts from the state of New York under the 1786 Treaty of Hartford. The pre-emption right gave them the first or preemptive right to obtain clear title to this land from the Indians. They soon extinguished the Indian title to the portion of the land "east" of the Genesee River, as well as a tract "west" of the Genesee, the Mill Yard Tract, surveyed all of it, laid out townships, and sold large parts to speculators and settlers. Nathaniel Gorham Jr. (died October 22, 1836, Canandaigua, New York) was a pioneer settler of this tract, having been placed in charge of his father's interests there.
Constitution of Spain
Traditionally, writing the preamble to the constitution was considered an honour, and a task requiring great literary ability. The person chosen for this purpose was . The full text of the preamble may be translated as follows:
Gouverneur Morris
Morris was born into a wealthy landowning family in New York City. After attending Columbia College, he studied law under Judge William Smith and earned admission to the bar. He was elected to the New York Provincial Congress before serving in the Continental Congress. After losing re-election to Congress, he moved to Philadelphia and became the assistant superintendent of finance of the United States. He represented Pennsylvania at the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, where he advocated a strong central government. He served on the committee that wrote the final draft of the United States Constitution.
Constitutional right
Perhaps the first fascinating fact about the U.S. Constitution is its length, containing only 4.400 words and thus being the shortest and oldest written Constitution in the world. Only on December 15, 1791 the Bill of Rights comprising the first 10 Amendments became part of the U.S. Constitution. Later on, other 17 Amendments were added. Thus, the U.S Constitution is summing a total of 27 Amendments and 7 Articles. During all this time, only one amendment overturned a previous one, more precisely the twenty-first Amendment ratified on December 5, 1933 repealed the prohibition of alcohol established by the eighteenth Amendment on January 16, 1919.
Jacob Broom
Jacob Broom (October 17, 1752 – April 25, 1810) was an American businessperson and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. As a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, he was a signer of the United States Constitution. He was also appointed as a delegate to the Annapolis Convention (1786) but did not attend, and he served in the Delaware General Assembly. He was the father of Congressman James M. Broom and grandfather of Congressman Jacob Broom.
List of Princeton University people (United States Congress, Supreme Court, Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention)
Princetonians represented each of the 13 states except Massachusetts in the Continental Congress. Four of them signed the Declaration of Independence; they are indicated by asterisks (*). Among them was John Witherspoon, a delegate from New Jersey and then the President of Princeton. Trained as a Presbyterian minister, Witherspoon was the only clergyman in the Continental Congress and served often as the body's chaplain. His experience on representative bodies in the ministry prepared him to be especially effective and influential in Congress, where he is said to have served on more committees than any other member.
The impotence of the national government under the Articles of Confederation prompted the Constitutional Convention, which met in Philadelphia between 25 May and 17 September 1787. This assembly wrote the Constitution of the United States, which came into effect in 1789 after nine states had ratified it.
John Dickinson
After his service in Pennsylvania, Dickinson returned to Delaware, and lived in Wilmington. He was quickly appointed to represent Delaware at the Annapolis Convention, where he served as its president. In 1787, Delaware sent him as one of its delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, along with Gunning Bedford, Jr., Richard Bassett, George Read, and Jacob Broom. There, he supported the effort to create a strong central government but only after the Great Compromise assured that each state, regardless of size, would have an equal vote in the future United States Senate. As he had done with the Articles, he also carefully drafted it with the term "Person" rather than "Man" as was used in the Declaration of Independence. He prepared initial drafts of the First Amendment. Following the Convention he promoted the resulting Constitution in a series of nine essays, written under the pen name "Fabius."
Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg by Joseph Wright
He served as a representative from Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress in 1779 and 1780, and as Speaker of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly from 1780 to 1783. He was elected Chairman of the Pennsylvania State Constitutional Convention, which ratified the U.S. Constitution on December 11, 1787. Eleven of the thirteen states had ratified the document by summer 1788, and Congress Under the Articles of Confederation certified the U.S. Constitution on September 3, 1788. Pennsylvania held a U.S. Congressional election on November 26, 1788, and Muhlenberg was elected to the Pennsylvania delegation. The newly-created First U.S. Congress convened in New York City on March 4, 1789. On April 1, 1789, its members elected Muhlenberg the first Speaker of the House, a position he held until the Second U.S. Congress was sworn in on March 4, 1791.
Samuel Stillman
He was a member of the American Philosophical Society and was politically active as a member of the 1779 Massachusetts Senate Convention for the formation of the State constitution; and also for the 1788 adoption of the United States Constitution. According to editor Frank Moore, Stillman was "a member of the Senate Convention for the formation of the state constitution in 1779; as also for the adoption of the federal constitution in 1788; in the last body he delivered a very eloquent speech in its support, and was considered at the time as having contributed much toward its adoption, and confirmed many members in its favor who were previously wavering upon that question. To that constitution he ever after continued a firm, unshaken friend, and a warm approver of the administration of Washington and Adams."
Republic
With the United States Declaration of Independence the leaders of the revolt firmly rejected the monarchy and embraced republicanism. The leaders of the revolution were well versed in the writings of the French liberal thinkers, and also in history of the classical republics. John Adams had notably written a book on republics throughout history. In addition, the widely distributed and popularly read-aloud tract "Common Sense", by Thomas Paine, succinctly and eloquently laid out the case for republican ideals and independence to the larger public. The Constitution of the United States, ratified in 1789, created a relatively strong federal republic to replace the relatively weak confederation under the first attempt at a national government with the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union ratified in 1781. The first ten amendments to the Constitution, called the United States Bill of Rights, guaranteed certain natural rights fundamental to republican ideals that justified the Revolution.
Enrique Tierno Galván
In 1978 he was chosen to write the preamble to the Spanish Constitution.
Preamble to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The preamble to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the introductory sentence to the Constitution of Canada's Charter of Rights and "Constitution Act, 1982". In full, it reads,
Criminal Copyright Law in the United States
In 1787, the Founding Fathers of the United States wrote the Copyright Clause into the U.S. Constitution, which granted the United States Congress the power, “[t]o promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” Copyright grants a limited monopoly to authors over the production and dissemination of their creative expression to incentivize further creative production. Protection is constitutionally limited in duration and scope to prevent detrimental monopolies on culture. The copyright protection written into the Constitution was first enacted in the Copyright Act of 1790, which granted national protection to American authors for 14 years, with one optional 14-year renewal. Copyright remained comparatively limited for around a hundred years, and infringement remained a civil infraction. The Supreme Court has, in the past, interpreted this as establishing that copyright was not a natural law property right, but rather a limited statutory monopoly granted by Congress.
Libertarian Party of Louisiana
Preamble
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
"Everson" used the metaphor of a wall of separation between church and state, derived from the correspondence of President Thomas Jefferson. It had been long established in the decisions of the Supreme Court, beginning with "Reynolds v. United States" in 1879, when the Court reviewed the history of the early Republic in deciding the extent of the liberties of Mormons. Chief Justice Morrison Waite, who consulted the historian George Bancroft, also discussed at some length the "Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments" by James Madison, who drafted the First Amendment; Madison used the metaphor of a "great barrier".
Lyman Trumbull
Lyman Trumbull (October 12, 1813 – June 25, 1896) was a United States Senator from Illinois and the co-author of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Preamble to the Constitution of India
The preamble is based on the "Objectives " which was drafted and moved in the Constituent Assembly by Jawaharlal Nehru on 13 December 1946.
B. R. Ambedkar said about the preamble:
Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States
All committee members were well educated and had extensive legislative experience. Due to the necessity of a constitution, they worked with considerable speed, reporting back to the convention on February 7. Copies were then made and distributed to convention members who spent relatively little time on debate. Their key changes to the committee's draft was an inclusion of the phrase "Invoking the favor of Almighty God" into the preamble, the addition of an executive item veto, a removal of a congressional restriction of fifteen percent on import tariffs, and a combining of the circuit and district court systems into one district system where each state comprised one district. The Provisional Constitution was then unanimously ratified near midnight on February 8, 1861 and was signed by all present members at noon the day of Jefferson Davis's inaugural address on February 18, 1861. There are fifty signatures in all, including those of the Texas delegation who were admitted on March 2. The Provisional Constitution was nullified with the ratification of the permanent Constitution of the Confederate States of America on March 11, 1861.
Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States
On February 4, 1861, in Montgomery, Alabama, deputies to a "Congress of the Sovereign and Independent States of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana" met to set about creating a new form of government based on that of the United States of America. Their efforts resulted in, among other achievements, the drafting of a provisional constitution for what came to be known as the Confederate States of America. Before the congress could accomplish anything, it required a set of guidelines to follow. On February 5, Christopher Memminger proposed a committee of thirteen be created for the purpose of drafting a provisional constitution in order to grant congressional power to the convention. Thomas Cobb, of Georgia, moved that the committee be twelve, with two members from each state delegation. The Convention settled on the latter, nominating Memminger and Robert Barnwell from South Carolina, William Barry and Wiley Harris from Mississippi, James Anderson and James Owens from Florida, Richard Walker and Robert Smith from Alabama, Alexander Stephens and Eugenius Nisbet from Georgia, and John Perkins and Duncan Kenner from Louisiana to the Committee of Twelve. The committee elected Memminger, who had arrived at the convention with a draft already prepared, as their chair.
Historiography of the United States
The Beardians were led by Charles A. Beard (1874–1948), who wrote hundreds of monographs, textbooks and interpretive studies in both history and political science. The most controversial was "An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States" (1913), which indicated that the founding fathers who wrote the Constitution in 1787 were motivated more by the fate of financial investments than anything idealistic. He wrote:
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. Arguably one of the most consequential amendments to this day, the amendment addresses citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws and was proposed in response to issues related to former slaves following the American Civil War. The amendment was bitterly contested, particularly by the states of the defeated Confederacy, which were forced to ratify it in order to regain representation in Congress. The amendment, particularly its first section, is one of the most litigated parts of the Constitution, forming the basis for landmark decisions such as "Brown v. Board of Education" (1954) regarding racial segregation, "Roe v. Wade" (1973) regarding abortion, "Bush v. Gore" (2000) regarding the 2000 presidential election, and "Obergefell v. Hodges" (2015) regarding same-sex marriage. The amendment limits the actions of all state and local officials, including those acting on behalf of such an official.
John D. Winters
In his preface to the book, Winters acknowledged the role of his wife, who served as the Louisiana Tech acquisitions librarian from 1948-1984. She helped conduct the years of extensive research in various historical records and helped write this book. In his preface to the book, Winters acknowledges his wife's assistance and also the contributions of two historians who guided him in the process, former Louisiana Tech president F. Jay Taylor, who read the manuscript, and the LSU historian T. Harry Williams, who wrote the foreword.
D. James Kennedy
Many of his public messages focused on American history and the faith of the Founding Fathers of the United States in relation to a Christian worldview. For instance, Kennedy cited John Quincy Adams' claim that Christianity is "indissolubly linked" to the founding of America. Kennedy wrote the foreword to the 1987 book '"Christianity and the Constitution: The Faith of Our Founding Fathers" authored by law professor John Eidsmoe.
E. Howard Hunt
The foreword to "American Spy" was written by William F. Buckley Jr. According to Buckley, he was asked through an intermediary to write the introduction but declined after he found that the manuscript contained material "that suggested transgressions of the highest order, including a hint that LBJ might have had a hand in the plot to assassinate President Kennedy." He stated that the work "was clearly ghostwritten", and eventually agreed to write an introduction focusing on his early friendship with Hunt after he received a revised manuscript "with the loony grassy-knoll bits chiseled out".
Anti-Federalist Papers
Anti-Federalist Papers is the collective name given to works written by the Founding Fathers who were opposed to or concerned with the merits of the United States Constitution of 1787. Starting on 25 September 1787 (8 days after the final draft of the US Constitution) and running through the early 1790s, these anti-Federalists published a series of essays arguing against a stronger and more energetic union as embodied in the new Constitution. Although less influential than their counterparts, "The Federalist Papers", these works nonetheless played an important role in shaping the early American political landscape and in the passage of the US Bill of Rights.
Foreword to the Supreme Court term
1994 Charles Fried
Bibliography of George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732 [O.S. February 11, 1731] – December 14, 1799) was the first President of the United States (1789–97), the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He presided over the convention that drafted the current United States Constitution and during his lifetime was called the "father of his country", and widely considered so by many historians today. Washington left volumes of letters, diaries and other documents that historians continue to draw on for insight into Washington's life and early American history overall.
Biographies of George Washington number nearly as many as those for all other major figures in the American Revolution combined, and comprise only a portion of the literature of Washington altogether.