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Notmyrealname Pseudonym
Mrs. Allison
Period 3
October 29, 2014
The Preambles Presence
The United States has recently been born. You are a delegate for one of the smaller states,
meeting with other officials in Philadelphia's Independence Hall. After a considerable amount of
time was spent debating, you and your colleagues have just finished creating the constitution,
which would provide a structure for government. You all have just decided to create an
introduction to the constitution , speaking of your groups intentions towards making it. Your
pen slowly meets paper and thus the Preamble was born during the last days of the
Constitutional Convention. Though it was formed more than two centuries ago, the preamble still
lives with us today, seen most clearly in times of tragedy such as the events of September
Eleventh.
The Preamble
The Preamble is akin to a topic sentence or thesis statement to the Constitution. You
could view it as a testament to the Founding
Fathers intentions in making the Constitution and
what its supposed to be. In reality, its really an
introductory statement to the Constitution. The
Preamble is essentially the definition of the
Constitution. Its a statement regarding the
Constitutions purposes and principles, listing off its functions.

Functions of the Government

Though the Preamble is a particularly long sentence, you can find multiple different
statements within it. These are generally the functions of the Government, which are powered by
the articles written in the Constitution. They are goals to be achieved within the actions of the
government. Each group of words between the commas have their own meaning and what they
refer to. Take the first phrase you read in the Preamble: We the people of the United States.
Its referring to the citizens of this nation as the subject. Then theres the first basic function of
government listed: in order to form a more perfect union. In this phrase, it means to make a
better country, referring to the United States as a union. The next phrase is establish justice,
which is fairly simple. It simply means to treat everyone fairly under the law. After that is
insure domestic tranquility, meaning to keep the peace within the country. Coming after that is
provide for the common defense. It means to maintain a proper means of defense for the
country. Following that is promote the general welfare, which means to improve the state of
the people. The last function is secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. It
means to keep this generation of citizens and the next generations freedom. To close it off is the
last phrase: do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. This is
the preposition, the action that we ,as the people, accept and keep the Constitution.
The Enduring Impact
The implementation of the Preamble still has an impact on the United States. It seems
that most often, during times of crisis, the impact of the Preamble can be clearly seen within the
nations reaction. It can be most evident in the Governments actions in response to 9/11, which
mostly go along with the phrase provide for the common defense from the Preamble.
According to dhs.gov, the Department of Homeland Security has gone to great lengths to further

protection against terrorist attacks. They have sent teams to prevent or disrupt possible terrorist
activity in transportation, advanced screening methods, and provided more thorough background
investigation to deny individuals associated with terrorism. Theyve also improved detection and
prevention in biological, radiological, and nuclear threats by deploying new technologies,
surveillance systems, and training officers and first
responders. They helped increase protection in the
nations critical infrastructure by improving antiterrorism standards in chemical facilities and survey
assessments to identify vulnerabilities and shed light
on protective measurements.
Conclusion
The ideals of the Preamble still live with us today, especially when the country hits hard
times. It is a basic introduction to our government, stating its goals and guidelines, which has
been written through American history within our actions. The people at that Constitutional
Convention may never have known the true impact of the words they wrote, but it will stay with
us forever.

Works Cited
"Homeland Security." Implementing 9/11 Commission Recommendations. Web. 03 Nov. 2014.

<http://www.dhs.gov/implementing-911-commission-recommendations>.