Con Law - Lesson 1 "The Preamble"

[Matt Dillon]

Whew! That explains it. I thought a lot of them were paranoid schizos. Good to know they're just limp-dicked geezer losers.

Son, you are derp!

Just For Men commercial lookin' motherfucker

[Jarod]

Actually, not. The preamble is like an executive summary in a long report. It isn't the 'meat and potatoes' of the Constitution and is essentially a throw-away sentence in importance.

The Constitution, as written, was meant as a check on government, a restraint. "To promote the common welfare" is so vague a statement as to be meaningless other than as a platitude. What restraint is placed on that statement? What are the limits of it? That's how the rest of the Constitution is framed, so why would those writing it put in a clause or sentence that could be interpreted so broadly as to render most of the rest of the document meaningless unless that sentence was meant to be meaningless?

Why include a meaningless sentence? The Courts have said you are wrong. There is significant meaning in the preamble, its a roadmap for how to read the remainder. I agree it does not carry force of law, but it is significant to show the intent of the founders. I do not believe any word in the Constitution is meaningless.

[BidenPresident]

Why include a meaningless sentence? The Courts have said you are wrong. There is significant meaning in the preamble, its a roadmap for how to read the remainder. I agree it does not carry force of law, but it is significant to show the intent of the founders. I do not believe any word in the Constitution is meaningless.

The right wing is very selective about what is in the Constitution. They believe "A well regulated Militia" in the 2nd Amendment is a meaningless phrase and can be ignored.

[T. A. Gardner]

Why include a meaningless sentence? The Courts have said you are wrong. There is significant meaning in the preamble, its a roadmap for how to read the remainder. I agree it does not carry force of law, but it is significant to show the intent of the founders. I do not believe any word in the Constitution is meaningless.

Why not? It also doesn't answer the question posed: If "promote the general welfare" means something legally, what are the limits on it?

[T. A. Gardner]

The right wing is very selective about what is in the Constitution. They believe "A well regulated Militia" in the 2nd Amendment is a meaningless phrase and can be ignored.

The "Militia" has meaning. The Orgainzed militia consists today of the National Guard. The unorganized militia is the people themselves. Much like Switzerland, as an example, the idea is that every able-bodied citizen is part of the militia and defends the nation when necessary. Thus, keeping military grade weapons by individual citizens is the whole point of the 2nd Amendment.

[evince]

Okay, so? The preamble is just a general statement about what the constitution is for. It isn't law, it isn't legal standing to use to create law. That comes in what follows, not the preamble. It's like a forward or introduction to a book, not the contents of the book itself.

Dear fucking idiot


If you claim to be an “intent of the founders” person it means everything fool



Fuck you very much

[evince]

Son, you are derp!

Just For Men commercial lookin' motherfucker

That last picture is you huh

[Poor Richard Saunders]

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, 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."


These 52 words were presented to the Constitutional Convention by the "Committee on Style" and adopted to be what we call the Preamble to the Constitution. It is as good of a place to start our study of the United States Constitution as any. While there is debate as to the use of the Preamble to establish law and or structure of American government, it is clearly an attempt to set the tone and explain what the document is, how it is to be viewed and the what the document is intended to be and do.

1) "We the People of the United States..." The first seven words show us the class of people who this document applies to... There were several drafts of this portion of the Constitution including "We the people of the various states" as is used in the Articles of Confederation and there was" or "We the People of the various states" and "The People of the united States... (listing them)" as was used in the Treaty of France. It is commonly noted that the drafters did not know how many States would sign on so listing them was a bad idea. The choice of the novel previously unused phrase "We the People of the United States" creates the existence of an actual Nation of people called the United States... Note that they capitalized the phrase "United States" making it an entity on its own. The States are not even mentioned in the preamble.

2) "In Order to form a more perfect Union" - The reason the Constitution was written, and to establish its supremacy over the previous Government created by the Articles of Confederation.

3) "This Constitution..." is also another important phrase, establishing that this is it, the entirety of what is to be considered The Constitution, establishing that it was to be this single document as distinguished from what English Government calls its Document which is a series of Writings and Documents cobbled together to establish the form and structure of their government. The single document Constitution was a novel idea for these former English Subjects.

4) Particularly interesting is the actual power the "Preamble" has had when interpreting the Constitution of the United States, the Supreme Court has used it to illustrate the intent of the framers as to what powers they actually intended to give with the subsequent Articles. In, Berman v. Parker, 348 US 26 (1954) the Court held that the term "promote the general welfare.." illustrates that the writers intended to give the Federal Government powers that enabled them to promote the general welfare, in that case use the right of eminent domain.

Much of what is in the preamble is included in the later document.

We the People of the United States, - defined in Art IV section 2
in Order to form a more perfect Union, - Art IV, Art VII
establish Justice, Art III
insure domestic Tranquility, Art IV section 4
provide for the common defense, Art I, Art II, Art IV
promote the general Welfare, Art I Section 8 Paragraph 1 It is specifically mentioned as a power of Congress

and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, - a wishful outcome for all of the above but the ability to unsecure anything is in Art V
do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." Art VII

[evince]

Actually, not. The preamble is like an executive summary in a long report. It isn't the 'meat and potatoes' of the Constitution and is essentially a throw-away sentence in importance.

The Constitution, as written, was meant as a check on government, a restraint. "To promote the common welfare" is so vague a statement as to be meaningless other than as a platitude. What restraint is placed on that statement? What are the limits of it? That's how the rest of the Constitution is framed, so why would those writing it put in a clause or sentence that could be interpreted so broadly as to render most of the rest of the document meaningless unless that sentence was meant to be meaningless?

They told us their intent



If it was throw away they would have thrown it away


You have no interest in the founders INTENT


THANK YOU FOR ADMITTING THAT



It was always a right wing bullshit lie

[Jarod]

Why not? It also doesn't answer the question posed: If "promote the general welfare" means something legally, what are the limits on it?

The reason not to include something meaningless in a legal document is because it might be misconstrued to mean something unintended.

Well, the question about what the limits are is a big debate and needs to be answered during our study of the rest of the document.

[evince]

Why not? It also doesn't answer the question posed: If "promote the general welfare" means something legally, what are the limits on it?

It’s very clear what it meant



general is a word


It’s defined in the dictionary


Welfare has a meaning


It’s defined n the dictionary



The founders were aware of the meanings of those words

[evince]

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/general



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general adjective
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gen·​er·​al | \ ˈjen-rəl , ˈje-nə- \
Essential Meaning of general
1 : of, relating to, or affecting all the people or things in a group
They have issued a general warning/order.
a general alarm
: involving or including many or most people
The general mood here is optimistic. [=most people here are optimistic]
The general consensus is that we should go ahead.
It's a story with general interest. = It's a general-interest story. [=it is a story that will interest many or most people]
2 : relating to the main or major parts of something rather than the details : not specific
The witness was able to provide a very general description of the thief.
She began her talk with some general observations about the state of the industry.
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3 —used to indicate that a description relates to an entire person or thing rather than a particular part
The building was in good general shape.
Full Definition of general (Entry 1 of 2)
1 : involving, applicable to, or affecting the whole
2 : involving, relating to, or applicable to every member of a class, kind, or group
the general equation of a straight line
3 : not confined by specialization or careful limitation
a general outline
4 : belonging to the common nature of a group of like individuals : GENERIC
the general characteristics of a species
5a : applicable to or characteristic of the majority of individuals involved : PREVALENT
the general opinion
b : concerned or dealing with universal rather than particular aspects
6 : relating to, determined by, or concerned with main elements rather than limited details
bearing a general resemblance to the original
7 : holding superior rank or taking precedence over others similarly titled
the general manager
general noun
Definition of general (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : something (such as a concept, principle, or statement) that involves or is applicable to the whole
2 : SUPERIOR GENERAL
3 archaic : the general public : PEOPLE
4a : GENERAL OFFICER
b : a commissioned officer in the army, air force, or marine corps who ranks above a lieutenant general and whose insignia is four stars
— compare ADMIRAL
in general
: for the most part : GENERALLY
In general, things are going as planned.

Synonyms & Antonyms
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Synonyms & Antonyms for general
Synonyms: Adjective
across-the-board, blanket, broad-brush, common, generic, global, overall, universal
Antonyms: Adjective
individual, particular

[evince]

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/welfare


welfare noun
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wel·​fare | \ ˈwel-ˌfer \
Essential Meaning of welfare
1 : a government program for poor or unemployed people that helps pay for their food, housing, medical costs, etc.
He wants to do away with welfare.
His family is on welfare. [=receiving government assistance]
2 : the state of being happy, healthy, or successful : WELL-BEING
I have your welfare at heart.
The welfare of all the orphans was at stake.
She donates to organizations concerned about animal welfare.
Full Definition of welfare (Entry 1 of 2)
1 : the state of doing well especially in respect to good fortune, happiness, well-being, or prosperity
must look out for your own welfare
2a : aid in the form of money or necessities for those in need
b : an agency or program through which such aid is distributed
welfare adjective
Definition of welfare (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : of, relating to, or concerned with welfare and especially with improvement of the welfare of disadvantaged social groups
welfare legislation
2 : receiving public welfare benefits
welfare families

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Learn More About welfare

Synonyms & Antonyms for welfare
Synonyms: Noun
good, interest, weal, well-being
Antonyms: Noun
ill-being
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[evince]

1 : of, relating to, or affecting all the people or things in a group
They have issued a general warning/order.
a general alarm
: involving or including many or most people



1 : the state of doing well especially in respect to good fortune, happiness, well-being, or prosperity

[evince]

relating to, or affecting all the people or things in a group and their state of doing well especially in respect to good fortune, happiness, well-being, or prosperity