“The Forgotten 4 Words”

In reading the Preamble to the Constitution, one cannot help but notice the beginning words, “We the People”.  They are the most often quoted three words in the document.  They have been used and abused ever since first penned on paper.

Reflecting on them, it almost seems as if a restriction or a decision was made early on to overlook the 4 words that follow.  This raises the question of whether it was and is intentional or accidental.  Certainly if one considers the continued use of the initial three words, they would support the idea that the country was a democracy since it only references the people, at large and in total.

While there are those who will disagree or take an opposing viewpoint with the following, the fact is that throughout history, the socialists have always used the term “democracy” as a stepping stone to their ultimate goal of socialism with a government controlled economy and populace.  One need only read some of the expository treatises on Marxism to realize the truth of that statement.

Yet, the Founding Fathers knew full well what they were putting on paper when they added the four words that follow, “of the United States”.  The significance and understanding of those 4 additional words when added to the other three are critical.  They established the “federal” approach to the formation of a government because the “states” (formerly colonies) were considered sovereign and independent in their own right.  Factually, it was the states that ratified the constitution and put it in operation.  Yes, many of the states had voting procedures for having their citizens vote individually.  BUT, in the final analysis, it was the state voting as a unit or block that actually ratified the document.

Further proof that this was what the founders intended can be realized when one examines the earlier drafts of the document.  At one time, the opening paragraph listed all 13 colonies.  This was considered too cumbersome and awkward as well as difficult from a style standpoint.  However, the decision to add the 4 words we are discussing was the considered judgment probably of Gouveneur Morris who served as the stylist.  According to notes on the drafting of the Constitution, the 4 words were considered satisfactory since they “included” all the existing states and would allow for the addition of new states as the country grew and expanded westward.  This slight change avoided the potential problem they saw of having to re-write the constitution each time a new state was admitted in order to make the opening statement correct.

Now let’s look at the full meaning of the complete phrase, “We the People of the United States”.  Knowing that each state voted separately, thereby agreeing to the terms and conditions of the “contract” (and it was a contract between the states and the new federal government), they did so without relinquishing their rights and independence.  Proof of this point can be found in Amendments IX and X which are parts of the Bill of Rights insisted upon by a number of the parties prior to agreeing to ratify the initial document.  The states were not willing to give any government a “blank check” in terms of power or authority.  Thus, Jefferson’s statement about “binding them down with the chains of a constitution” serves as testimony.

In the future when someone refers to “We the People”, politely remind them of the additional 4 words that actually established in the beginning a federal system instead of a national one.

That’s my view.  What’s yours?  Reach me at constitutionviews@gmail.com ©Copyright 2013 Hillard W. Welch