The Preamble of the American Constitution (1787) states:
“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 Constitution which now governs the United States was a second draft. The confederacy originally created by the founders did not last. It was a failed prototype. Gouvernour Morris, a New Yorker by birth, and a lawyer by trade, coined the above words.
Morris stood firmly against slavery. He witnessed the the horrors with his own eyes. He felt that the U.S. Constitution’s purpose was to protect the rights of humanity and that, to promote slavery, was incongruous with it.
How could men, whose only advantage was the bondage of human beings for personal wealth, be worthy of more votes in a government instituted for the protection of the rights of mankind than of those of non-slave holders? In crafting his words, he was speaking for posterity to tell us…”The fight isn’t over…it’s up to you, future generations, to continue to perfect this Union.”
These were men. Not angels. No more than you or I. But they did not have the advantage of standing on the shoulders of giants who worked tirelessly to afford us the many liberties we’ve since gained.
It comes to us, then, to continue the inroads made by them. To carry the baton towards a more perfect Union.
Take heart! Even those who created the foundations of government, which we find lacking in their current state, knew there was more work to be done.
We are the People of the United States. And we’ve still work to do to 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.
Roll up your sleeves. It’s time to get to work.
Veneranda Jade 