Who are "We the People"? Meaning and Importance

"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." ~ Preamble of the U.S. Constitution

Meaning of "We the People"

The first three words in the Constitution are the most powerful: We the People. They declare that the Constitution derives its power, not from a king or a Congress but from the people themselves. This concept of popular sovereignty, power to the people, is the foundation upon which the entire Constitution depends. While you may think that “We the People” is about all Americans, there is much more to the phrase. “We the People” includes all the citizens of the United States of America. The importance of this phrase shows that it wasn't just the framers of the Constitution or the legislators who were given powers to the government. Instead, the government gets all of its powers from the Citizens of the United States of America.

When you read the entire preamble, you can see that “We the People” give the government its powers. This is very important because without the people lending that power, the United States Constitution would not have been able to become the guideline for the Republican government we have today.

Universal Founding Principles

Edwin J. Feulner, the founder and former president of The Heritage Foundation, provides a great explanation of America's unique founding principles:

"Our nation is unique because of its universal founding principles. At the heart of these principles is the belief that people are free by nature and possess inherent rights. The use each one of us makes of these rights will naturally be different, and the outcomes of those choices will naturally differ, too. But the choice remains ours.

Freedom is thus inextricably bound up with living our lives as we see fit. This is self-government in the truest sense of the term. We the people need not slavishly defer to experts. We can be trusted to govern ourselves."

Those last two sentences seem more critical today than ever before. We often hear the phrase "trust the experts" when we are asked to give up our freedom and rights granted by the Constitution. This contradicts America's founding principles and should be met with skepticism about its true intent!

Like the faded flag in the background, our nation has been torn, and "We The People" must stand boldly and unite!

Patriot Made + American Made:

The Constitution, by opening up with “We the People,” immediately affirms that the Constitution is of the people, for the people, and by the people of the United States.

As Proper Patriots, United States citizens, and our country's sovereign entity, it is our duty and privilege to inherently question those in power. We should not just listen to what politicians tell us what they’ll do but pay close attention to what they do and what interests they serve.

Furthermore, we should seek to know, connect with and serve our fellow citizens. A tyrannical government is only possible when the people largely depend upon the state and not our more local areas' organic relationships and networks. We, the People, take back our power by building families, communities, and businesses that free us from dependence on the centralized control systems of government and industries.

Let’s restore the power of the people by building our own loving families, friendly communities, and wholesome businesses with selfless leaders that love this country!

Enjoy these patriotic quotes on the U.S. Constitution:

"The Constitution is the guide which I will never abandon." - George Washington

"The happy Union of these States is a wonder; their Constitution a miracle; their example the hope of Liberty throughout the world." - James Madison

"The glory of justice and the majesty of law are created not just by the Constitution - nor by the courts - nor by the officers of the law - nor by the lawyers - but by the men and women who constitute our society - who are the protectors of the law as they are themselves protected by the law." - Robert F. Kennedy

"The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself." - Benjamin Franklin

"We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution." - Abraham Lincoln

Sources: ‘We the People’ - Edwin J. Feulner, Ph.D.

Photo credit: Getty/alancrosthwaite