One aspect of the U.S. system of government is that, while the rest of the world now views the United States as a single country, U.S. constitutional law recognizes at the national level a federation of state governments distinct from the federal government (not subdivisions thereof), each of which is sovereign over its own affairs. [40] Sometimes the Supreme Court has even compared states to explain the U.S. system of state sovereignty. [41] However, the sovereignty of each state is limited by the United States. This video can be used as inspiration in a courtroom, classroom or community program. It can also serve as an effective discussion stimulus to stimulate conversation about the Constitution. This is the provision that declares the adoption of “this Constitution” by “We the people of the United States.” This statement has important implications for the interpretation of the Constitution. While the preamble itself does not confer powers or rights, it has important implications for both how the Constitution is to be interpreted and applied, and who has the power to interpret the Constitution – the two largest overarching issues of constitutional law. Finally, the preamble has important implications for who has the ultimate power to interpret the Constitution. In modern times, it has become fashionable to identify the power of constitutional interpretation almost exclusively with the decisions of the courts, and in particular the Supreme Court of the United States. And yet, while it is true that the courts in the cases before them have legitimate jurisdiction to interpret the Constitution, it is equally true that the other branches of national government – and also of the state government – have a similar responsibility for the faithful interpretation of the Constitution.
None of these governmental institutions created or recognized by the Constitution is superior to the Constitution itself. No one is superior to the ultimate power of the people to accept, change, and interpret what is, after all, the Constitution ordered and established by “We the people of the United States.” Justice promises to give people what they deserve in terms of basic rights to food, clothing, housing, participation in decision-making and a dignified life as human beings. The preamble covers all these dimensions of justice – social, economic and political. In addition, the granting of political justice in the form of universal suffrage for adults or the representative form of democracy. Equality is not mentioned in the preamble. This is not surprising for a constitution that explicitly protects the institution of slavery and gives no rights to women. But as the Supreme Court has explained for more than half a century, equality is an implicit and inherent part of freedom. The preamble to the United States Constitution—the famous first fifty-two words of the document—introduces everything that must follow in the seven articles and twenty-seven amendments to the Constitution.
He proclaims who adopts this Constitution: “We, the people of the United States.” It describes why it is being adopted – the objectives behind the adoption of the U.S. Government`s Charter. And it describes what is adopted: “this constitution” – a single, authoritative written text intended to serve as the fundamental law of the land. Written constitutionalism was a quintessentially American innovation and one that the training generation regarded as the new nation`s greatest contribution to government science.