It is Constitution Week: A Preamble!

Actually, Tuesday is Constitution Day. September 17 is the anniversary of the conclusion of the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

Tomorrow, I will be posting a number of video resources that I think will be of use to elementary school teachers, homeschool teachers, and anyone looking to talk more about The United States Constitution with their children.

I will be sharing some reasoning behind why these are sound resources. I will also share some possible discussion questions. I hope they will be of help. If anything, I think many of you will just find them enjoyable.

I have spent most of my professional life teaching about the Constitution to general education students in classes like Introduction to American Government at BYU-Idaho and Casper College and American Heritage at BYU and BYU-Idaho. I miss being in the classroom!

Here is a taste…or shall we say a Preamble…to the other things I will be sharing:

We often forgot the entire preamble. It is the introductory paragraph to the Constitution. It states the purpose of the details that follow in the rest of the document. We are more easily distracted and mislead, if we do not understand and appreciate the Preamble.

Here is the 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.

Some possible questions and points of discussion:

What does “We the People of the United States…” mean? How is this referring to? Why is this important?

Why did the United States need “…a more perfect Union”? (I will be posting some resources that address the problems and conditions which led to the Constitutional Convention).

Discuss the meaning of terms like Union, Justice, domestic Tranquility. common defence, general welfare, and Posterity. Maybe not all the them. Be careful no to get carried away by others issues. Remember, this is a chance for your children and students to start the process of thinking about the Constitution for themselves.

Alright! Please, stop by Approaching Justice tomorrow for additional resources for Constitution Day. As always, please share any posts that you think others might be able to use. Thanks.

See all the posts in this series here.