The Constitution of the United States, Preamble

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 of the United States, Preamble.

Definitions

Domestic Tranquility:  One of the concerns of the Framers was that the government prior to that under the Constitution was unable, by force or persuasion, to quell rebellion or quarrels amongst the states. The government watched in horror as Shay's Rebellion transpired just before the Convention, and some states had very nearly gone to war with each other over territory (such as between Pennsylvania and Connecticut over Wilkes-Barre). One of the main goals of the Convention, then, was to ensure the federal government had powers to squash rebellion and to smooth tensions between states.
Mount, Steve.  "The Constitutional Dictionary."  USConstitution.net. 24 Jan 2010.  http://www.usconstitution.net/glossary.html#DOMTRAN (17 May 2010).

Defence: Spelled in the British manner.
Mount, Steve. "Misspellings in the U.S. Constitution." USConstitution.net. 24 Jan 2010. http://www.usconstitution.net/constmiss.html (17 May 2010).

Welfare: Health, happiness, or prosperity; Well-being.
Mount, Steve. "The Constitutional Dictionary." USConstitution.net. 24 Jan 2010. http://www.usconstitution.net/glossary.html#WELFARE (17 May 2010).

Posterity:  Future generations; All of a person's descendants.
Mount, Steve. "The Constitutional Dictionary." USConstitution.net. 24 Jan 2010. http://www.usconstitution.net/glossary.html#POSTERITY (17 May 2010).

Ordain:  To order by or as if by decree.
Mount, Steve. "The Constitutional Dictionary." USConstitution.net. 24 Jan 2010. >http://www.usconstitution.net/glossary.html#ORDAIN (17 May 2010).


Explanation

We the People of the United States

The Framers . . . knew that they were trying to forge a nation made up . . . of the common man. Without the approval of the common man, they feared revolution. This first part of the Preamble speaks to the common man. It puts into writing, as clear as day, the notion that the people were creating this Constitution. It was not handed down . . . — it was created by the people.

in Order to form a more perfect Union

The Framers were dissatisfied with the United States under the Articles of Confederation, but they felt that what they had was the best they could have, up to now. They were striving for something better.  The Articles of Confederation had . . . worked well up to a point, but now . . . .  [T]he new United States, under this new Constitution, would be more perfect. Not perfect, but more perfect.

establish Justice

Injustice, unfairness of laws and in trade, was of great concern to the people of 1787. People looked forward to a nation with a level playing field, where courts were established with uniformity and where trade within and outside the borders of the country would be fair and unmolested. Today, we enjoy a system of justice that is one of the fairest in the world. It has not always been so — only through great struggle can we now say that every citizen has the opportunity for a fair trial and for equal treatment, and even today there still
exists discrimination. But we still strive for the justice that the Framers wrote about.

insure domestic Tranquility

One of the events that caused the Convention to be held was the revolt of Massachusetts farmers knows as Shays' Rebellion. The taking up of arms by war veterans revolting against the state government was a shock to the system. The keeping of the peace was on everyone's mind, and the maintenance of tranquility at home was a prime concern. The framers hoped that the new powers given the federal government would prevent any such rebellions in the future.

provide for the common defence

The new nation was fearful of attack from all sides — and no one state was really capable of fending off an attack from land or sea by itself. With a wary eye on Britain and Spain, and ever-watchful for Indian attack, no one of the United States could go it alone. They needed each other to survive in the harsh world of international politics of the 18th century.

promote the general Welfare

This, and the next part of the Preamble, are the culmination of everything that came before it — the whole point of having tranquility, justice, and defense was to promote the general welfare — to allow every state and every citizen of those states to benefit from what the government could provide.

and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity

Hand in hand with the general welfare, the framers looked forward to the blessings of liberty — something they had all fought hard for just a decade before. They were very concerned that they were creating a nation that would resemble something of a paradise for liberty, as opposed to the tyranny of a monarchy, where citizens could look forward to being free as opposed to looking out for the interests of a king. And more than for themselves, they wanted to be sure that the future generations of Americans would enjoy the same.

do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America

That the Constitution is "ordained" reminds us of the higher power involved here — not just of a single person . . . , but of the people themselves.

Mount, Steve. Constitutional Topic: The Preamble. USConstitution.net. 4 Apr 2010.  http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_pre.html (17 May 2010).

DISCUSSION

One of the main goals of the Convention, then, was to ensure the federal government had powers to squash rebellion and to smooth tensions between states.

The founders looked to the federal government to smooth tensions between states.  Consider the current issue of immigration law in Arizona.  Are we to consider the Obama administration anti-constitutional?  Are we to consider Los Angeles and San Francisco as anti-constitutional towns?  Are we to consider certain members of congress anti-constitutional when they accuse Arizona of being racist for passing the law?

Without reading the legislation, people outside Arizona are making incendiary charges against the state.  Do you consider these actions severe enough to call them tensions caused by the legislative and executive branches of our government.?