Founding Documents and Principles

THE PREAMBLE AND THE FUNCTIONS OF GOVERNMENT

Introduction:

Understanding the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution is important because it sets out the
purposes or functions of government as envisioned by the framers. This lesson opens with a
group activity in which students look at the words in the Preamble and translate them into
everyday language. Then students take part in a card sort activity, in which they are asked to
classify a set of cards, each describing a function of government, using phrases from the
Preamble as the category titles.
Finally, students take part in a civil conversation on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have
a Dream” speech. Through discussion of the speech, students will delve more deeply into the
meaning of the Preamble, focusing particularly on who “We the People” are and what should be
done by government and by citizens in order to make a “more perfect union” a reality.

Objectives: At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Explain the purposes of government as identified in the Preamble to the Constitution.

• Categorize functions of government according to which purposes they advance.
• Read a document that raises questions about the meaning of the Preamble in practice.
• Take part in a civil conversation on that document.

Materials and Preparation:

Make enough copies of the “News Flash! Functions of Government” cards so that each
group of three students can have a set. Also make copies of the “Preamble,” “Civil
Conversation Guide,” and “Civil Conversation Reading: Excerpts from I Have a Dream”
handouts for all students. You may also want to make an overhead of the Preamble.

Procedure:

Part I: Putting the Preamble into Everyday Words

1. Distribute copies of the “Preamble” (and project it if you have made an overhead). Tell
students that the Preamble, or introduction, to the U.S. Constitution is a very important
document. It begins with an important phrase, “We the People of the United States.” Ask:
Why are these words important? (Because they tell us that the government’s power comes
from the people.)

2. Explain that the Preamble is also important because it outlines several purposes or functions
of government. Clarify vocabulary with students or organize the students into six groups and
assign each group to look up words in one phrase and come up with a “translation” of the
phrase into everyday language.

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Part II: Card Sort on the Functions of Government

1. Ask students to perform several simple classifying activities. After they have completed the
categorizing tasks, ask them to define the term classifying. A possible definition might be
sorting objects according to a set of categories. Ask: Were these classifying tasks easy or
hard? What if you just had the list and didn’t have the categories? Would the task be harder?
What would you have to do in order to classify the items? (They would have to look for
similarities and differences among the items to create classifications.) Ask students to re-sort
one of the lists you provided using categories of their own creation. For example, they might
sort the list of athletes by gender, city where they play, or height.

2. Put students in groups of three. Distribute a set of “News Flash! Functions of Government”
cards to each group. Tell students that all the cards describe things the government does.
Students are going to be classifying the cards according to which purpose of government
listed in the Preamble the action described helps to achieve. Review with students what
classifying means: sorting objects into groups or categories; all of the objects in a category
have something in common. You may want to have students practice an easy classifying task,
such as classifying classmates according to hair color, well-known athletes according to what
sport they play, foods on the school lunch menu according to the designations on the food
pyramid, popular films according to the genre into which they fall, etc.

3. Ask each group to classify the cards using the phrases of the Preamble as the categories.
Point out that there is no one right answer but students should have reasons for sorting the
cards as they do. You may want to demonstrate the classifying process using a Think Aloud
technique. For instance, you might say something like the following:

Let’s look at the card that says “Fighting Terrorism! U.S. troops prepare for a raid on an Iraqi
town where terrorists are believed to be operating.” I know this action has to do with
fighting terrorism in order to keep Americans safe. This card could fit under promoting the
general welfare, because we can’t do well if we’re not safe. But I think there’s a better
answer—promoting the common defence, because our troops are defending us against
terrorists.

4. When students have completed the task, review the sorting. Because the phrases of the
Preamble are ambiguous, there is no one right answer. Students should, however, be able to
provide reasons for the way in which they classified the cards.

Part III: Civil Conversation on the “I Have a Dream” Speech

1. Tell students that the Preamble sets goals for the government of the United States, but those
goals have not always been achieved for all of the people of the United States. Sometimes
groups have felt that they were not included in “We the People.” Groups and individuals
have pointed out that the nation has fallen short of being a “more perfect union.” In the 1950s
and 1960s, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., other civil rights leaders, and many ordinary citizens
called for the government to take action to fully include African Americans in “We the
People” and extend the benefits of citizenship to African-Americans equally.

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2. Tell students that in 1963, Dr. King gave a famous speech, now known as the I Have a
Dream speech. Among other things, the speech challenged the idea that those purposes were
being met in reality. Distribute the “Civil Conversation Guide” and “Civil Conversation
Reading: Excerpts from I Have a Dream” handouts and allow time for students to read the
speech and complete the first five questions of the “Civil Conversation Reading Guide.”
Remind students to keep in mind the purposes of government laid out in the Preamble as they
consider the reading. This preparation could be done as homework.

3. Have the students move their chairs into a circle and review the “Rules for Civil
Conversation” with the class. Begin the conversation by “whipping around” the class,
asking every member of the group to respond briefly to questions 3 and 4 of the Reading
Guide. Members should not just repeat what others say. Next, ask the group to respond to
question 5 and jot down the issues raised as they answer. Continue the conversation by
discussing the questions raised.

4. Debrief the activity by having the class reflect on the effectiveness of the conversation. Begin
by asking students to return to the Reading Guide and answer questions 6 and 7. Then ask:

• What did you learn from the civil conversation? Did the conversation help you
understand the meaning and importance of the Preamble in a new way?
• What common ground did you find with other members of the group?

Ask students who were not active in the conversation to comment on the things they learned
or observed. Conclude the debriefing by asking all participants to suggest ways in which the
conversation could be improved. If appropriate, have students add the suggestions to their list
of conversation rules.

Extension:

Create a bulletin board display with the phrases from the Preamble serving as headings
for columns. Ask students to look for items in the newspaper that describe activities of the
federal government. Students can clip the articles and tack them on the board under the
appropriate category.
Watch the speech on videotape. Have students evaluate the voice and body language
techniques Dr. King uses to effectively deliver the speech. Encourage them to use some of these
same techniques when they perform the parts of panelists in the legislative hearing (Unit 2).

A More Perfect Union, Copyright © 2004, Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago

 Name _____________________ Student Handout

Preamble to the U.S. Constitution

The Preamble is the introduction to the U.S. Constitution. It says:

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 above phrases from the Preamble describe purposes or functions of government.
Translate each phrase below into everyday language:

To form a more perfect Union means:

Establish Justice means:

Insure domestic Tranquility means:

Provide for the common defence means:

Promote the general Welfare means:

Secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our Posterity means:

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 Student Handout

News Flash! Functions of Government

Fix those Potholes! Watch Out for Those Burgers!

The Transportation Department maintains The Department of Agriculture puts out
the nation’s interstate highway system. the food pyramid, which helps people
plan a healthy diet.

Windmills on Every Home? Everything Has a Price!

The Department of Energy provides The Treasury Department issues paper
funding for research on wind energy. money and mints coins to be used in all
of the states.

Care for Soldiers Fighting Terrorism!

The Veterans Administration opens a new U.S. troops prepare for a raid on an Iraqi
hospital to care for men and women who town where terrorists are believed to be
have served in the military. operating.

Help Is on its Way! Pressure on Students to Make the

The federal government provides disaster Grade!
relief funding to help communities struck Congress passes a law requiring that
by floods and tornados. students be tested every year to make sure
they are achieving.

Still More Tests! Searching for a Cure

The Supreme Court hears a case on The National Institute on Aging funds a
whether students can be required to take study on how long Alzheimer’s patients
drug tests at school. live after they are diagnosed with the
disease.

Riot in the Streets! That’s Not Fair!

The National Guard is sent in to stop The Justice Department charges a
rioting and looting after an earthquake. Chicago bank with refusing to provide
services in minority communities.

Statue of Liberty Reopens! Keeping the Skies Safe

The National Park Service announces the Armed federal marshals ride on many
re-opening of the Statue of Liberty. flights within the United States.

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 Name _______________________________ Student Handout

Civil Conversation Guide

Rules for Civil Conversations

1. Read the text as if it were written by someone you really respected.

2. Everyone in the group should participate in the conversation.
3. Listen carefully to what others are saying.
4. Ask clarifying questions if you do not understand a point raised.
5. Be respectful of what others are saying.
6. Refer to the text to support your ideas.
7. Focus on ideas, not personalities.

Civil Conversation Reading Guide

Reading: ______________________________________________________________

Read through the entire selection without stopping to think about any particular section. Pay attention to
your first impression as to what the reading is about. Look for the main points; then go back and re-read
the selection. Briefly answer the following.

1. This selection is about _______________________________________

2. The main points are:

a. ___________________________________________________________

b. ___________________________________________________________

c. ___________________________________________________________

3. In the reading, I agree with

4. In the reading, I disagree with

5. What are two questions about this reading that you think need to be discussed? (The best questions
for discussion are ones that have no simple answers, ones than can use materials in the text as
evidence.)

The next two questions should be answered after you hold your civil conversation.

6. What did you learn from the civil conversation?

7. What common ground did you find with other members of the group?

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 Student Handout

Civil Conversation Reading:

Excerpts from I Have a Dream

On August 28, 1963, on the steps of the

Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.,
Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke to over
200,000 people attending his March on
Washington. The demonstrators—black and
white, poor and rich—had come to the
nation's capital to demand voting rights and
equal opportunity for African Americans,
and to appeal for an end to racial segregation
and discrimination. With the statue of
Abraham Lincoln behind him, King
described how the "Negro is still not free."
He told of the struggle ahead, the importance
of nonviolence, and his dream of the future.
Below are excerpts from the speech. As
you read them, think about the purposes of
government described in the Preamble.
According to Dr. King, were those purposes
being achieved for African Americans? Were
African Americans part of “We the People”?

I am happy to join with you today in discrimination. One hundred years later, the
what will go down in history as the greatest Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in
demonstration for freedom in the history of the midst of a vast ocean of material
our nation. prosperity. One hundred years later, the
Five score years ago, a great American, Negro is still languished in the corners of
in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, American society and finds himself an exile
signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This in his own land. And so we've come here
momentous decree came as a great beacon today to dramatize a shameful condition. …
light of hope to millions of Negro slaves, I have a dream that one day this nation
who had been seared in the flames of will rise up and live out the true meaning of
withering injustice. It came as a joyous its creed: We hold these truths to be self-
daybreak to end the long night of their evident that all men are created equal.
captivity. I have a dream that one day on the red
But one hundred years later, the Negro hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves
still is not free. One hundred years later, the and the sons of former slave owners will be
life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the able to sit down together at the table of
manacles of segregation and the chains of brotherhood.

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 I have a dream that one day even the day when all of God's children will be able
state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with to sing with new meaning, "My country 'tis
the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
of oppression, will be transformed into an Land where my fathers died, land of the
oasis of freedom and justice. Pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let
I have a dream that my four little freedom ring!" And if America is to be a
children will one day live in a nation where great nation, this must become true.
they will not be judged by the color of their And so let freedom ring – from the
skin but by the content of their character. I prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
have a dream today! Let freedom ring – from the mighty
I have a dream that one day, down in mountains of New York.
Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its Let freedom ring – from the heightening
governor having his lips dripping with the Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
words of interposition and nullification; one Let freedom ring – from the snow-
day right down in Alabama little black boys capped Rockies of Colorado.
and black girls will be able to join hands Let freedom ring – from the curvaceous
with little white boys and white girls as slopes of California.
sisters and brothers. I have a dream today! But not only that.
I have a dream that one day every valley Let freedom ring – from Stone
shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain Mountain of Georgia.
shall be made low, the rough places will be Let freedom ring – from Lookout
made plain, and the crooked places will be Mountain of Tennessee.
made straight, and the glory of the Lord Let freedom ring – from every hill and
shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it molehill of Mississippi, from every
together. mountainside, let freedom ring!
This is our hope. This is the faith that I And when this happens, when we allow
will go back to the South with. With this freedom to ring, when we let it ring from
faith we will be able to hew out of the every village and every hamlet, from every
mountain of despair a stone of hope. With state and every city, we will be able to speed
this faith we will be able to transform the up that day when all of God's children, black
jangling discords of our nation into a men and white men, Jews and Gentiles,
beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With Protestants and Catholics, will be able to
this faith we will be able to work together, to join hands and sing in the words of the old
pray together, to struggle together, to go to Negro spiritual,
jail together, to stand up for freedom “Free at last, free at last.
together, knowing that we will be free one Thank God Almighty, we are free at
day. And this will be the day, this will be the last.”

Sources: Introduction adapted from HistoryChannel.com. Picture and speech from

AmericanRhetoric.Com

A More Perfect Union, Copyright © 2004, Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago