The introductory passage to the Constitution is known as the Preamble, although the original text does not give it that title. The Preamble states the general purposes of the Constitution. After winning independence from the British in the Revolutionary War, Americans sought to “secure the Blessings of Liberty” through a permanent form of government. Their first attempt, the Articles of Confederation, was a loose association of the thirteen independent states. Ratified in 1781, the Articles existed only six years before a new Constitution was proposed in 1787.

Writing in the first of the Federalist papers, a series of newspaper articles supporting the ratification of the Constitution, Alexander Hamilton pointed out the unique status of the American people in creating their new government:

It has been frequently remarked that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political institutions on accident and force.

This artwork by Mike Wilkins illustrates the Preamble using the license plates of all fifty states.