We the People: The First Words of Self-Government

The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words? The answer is “We the People.” These three words announce that the Constitution comes from the people themselves, not from a king or ruling class. Power flows upward from citizens, not downward from a monarch.

Before these words, most governments claimed authority from divine right, conquest, or hereditary rule. Kings said God chose them to rule. The Constitution says the people choose their government. This reversal marked a revolutionary change in how government could be justified and organized.

The Essential Facts

For the citizenship test, the answer is simple: We the People. These are the exact first three words of the Constitution. You should memorize them word for word.

The full opening sentence of the Constitution reads: “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.”

This sentence is called the Preamble. It states who is creating the Constitution and why. The people are creating it. They are doing so to form a better union, establish justice, ensure peace, provide defense, promote welfare, and secure liberty. The Preamble does not grant any powers or create any rights. It explains the purpose behind what follows.

Why These Words Matter

During the 1780s, the Articles of Confederation governed the United States. That document began differently. It said: “We the undersigned Delegates of the States.” The Articles created a league of state governments, not a government of the people.

The Constitution’s drafters chose different language deliberately. They wanted to emphasize that the new government rested on popular sovereignty. The people themselves, not state governments, were creating and authorizing this Constitution.

Some delegates at the Constitutional Convention wanted to list all thirteen states by name in the Preamble. Gouverneur Morris, who wrote the final draft, used “We the People” instead. This choice had practical and philosophical advantages. Practically, the Constitution would take effect when nine states ratified it, not all thirteen. Listing states by name would create confusion if some states rejected it. Philosophically, “We the People” reinforced that the Constitution derived authority from citizens, not states.

Historical Moment

The Constitutional Convention appointed a Committee of Style in September 1787 to polish the document’s language. Gouverneur Morris, a delegate from Pennsylvania, served on this committee and took the lead in final drafting.

Morris transformed the working draft into elegant prose. Where earlier versions had been functional but clunky, Morris made the language sing. He created the Preamble’s flowing sentence. He gave the Constitution its distinctive voice.

Morris explained his thinking years later. He believed the Constitution needed to speak as one nation, not a collection of states. “We the People of the United States” accomplished this goal. The phrase made clear that Americans were forming a national government, not just a compact among state governments.

When the convention presented the finished Constitution to the states, those opening words sparked immediate debate. Anti-Federalists attacked “We the People” as evidence the Constitution would destroy state sovereignty. Federalists defended the phrase as properly recognizing that all legitimate government authority comes from the people.

Patrick Henry, opposing ratification in Virginia, pointed to the Preamble and asked: “What right had they to say, We, the People? My political curiosity leads me to ask, who authorized them to speak the language of, We, the People, instead of We, the States?” Henry feared “We the People” meant consolidation into one national mass, destroying state identity.

James Madison defended the phrase. Government authority must come from the people, he argued, not from state legislatures. The people of each state would vote on ratification through special conventions. The people themselves would decide whether to adopt this Constitution. “We the People” accurately described who was acting.

How You See It Today

“We the People” remains powerful in American political life. Movements for change invoke these words to argue that government must respond to popular will. Protesters carry signs saying “We the People” to claim their voices deserve hearing. Politicians quote the phrase to connect their positions with founding principles.

Courts cite “We the People” when explaining the basis of governmental authority. The Supreme Court has written that the Constitution “was ordained and established by the people of the United States for themselves, for their own government, and not for the government of the individual states.” This principle of popular sovereignty runs through constitutional interpretation.

The phrase reminds us that in America, the people are sovereign. Government officials are public servants, not rulers. They hold power only because the people grant it through the Constitution and elections. This makes American government different from systems where authority comes from tradition, religion, or force.

The Deeper Story

Popular sovereignty as an idea predates the American Constitution. Ancient Athens practiced a form of democracy where free male citizens voted on laws and policies. The Roman Republic gave citizens a role in government. Medieval England developed ideas about rights and consent. These precedents influenced American thinking but were all limited by modern standards.

Enlightenment philosophers refined theories of popular sovereignty. John Locke argued that government exists only by consent of the governed. If government violates natural rights, people can withdraw their consent and alter or abolish it. Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote about the general will of the people as the proper basis for legitimate government. These ideas circulated widely in educated colonial society.

The Declaration of Independence embraced popular sovereignty explicitly. It stated that governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed.” When Britain violated American rights, the Declaration argued, Americans could dissolve their political connection and create new government. “We the People” in the Constitution put this theory into practice.

Understanding “We the People” requires acknowledging who was included and excluded in 1787. The people who ratified the Constitution through state conventions were white male property owners. Women could not vote. Enslaved people were property, not citizens. Native Americans were outside the political community. “We the People” referred to a limited group, not all inhabitants.

Over time, the meaning of “We the People” expanded. Constitutional amendments ended slavery, granted citizenship to former slaves, gave women the vote, and protected voting rights for all citizens regardless of race. The circle of “the People” grew wider. This expansion made the Constitution’s opening words more inclusive and more true to their egalitarian promise.

Connections That Matter

Understanding “We the People” connects to many civics concepts. It explains why elections matter – the people must regularly reaffirm who will exercise government power on their behalf. It clarifies why constitutional amendments require broad support – changes to the fundamental law need the people’s consent, demonstrated through supermajorities.

Popular sovereignty relates to the Constitution’s amendment process. Article V requires extraordinary majorities to amend the Constitution because fundamental changes should reflect strong popular consensus. Simple majorities might be temporary or regional. Supermajorities better represent “We the People” as a whole.

The concept also connects to rights protection. If the people are sovereign, then government exists to serve them, not the other way around. This makes protection of individual rights essential. Government cannot claim authority to violate the rights of the very people from whom it derives its power.

For more on how the people create government, see our article on what the Constitution does in the uscis-questions category. To understand how popular sovereignty works through elections, explore our explanation of voting rights. To learn about expanding who counts as “the People,” read about the Reconstruction Amendments and women’s suffrage.

Top 10 Frequently Asked Questions

Why are these words so important? They establish that government authority comes from the people, not from kings, tradition, or force. This makes American government fundamentally different from most governments throughout history.

Did the founders really mean all people? No. In 1787, “We the People” meant white male property owners. Women, enslaved people, Native Americans, and poor whites were excluded from full political participation. The meaning has expanded over time to include all citizens.

What is popular sovereignty? Popular sovereignty means the people hold ultimate political power. Government exists only because the people create it and can be changed if the people decide to change it. Officials serve at the people’s pleasure.

How do the people exercise sovereignty? Through voting in elections, serving on juries, petitioning government, amending the Constitution, and other forms of civic participation. Representatives exercise power on behalf of the people who elected them.

Can the people change the Constitution? Yes, through the amendment process in Article V. Amendments require approval by two-thirds of Congress and three-fourths of state legislatures, showing that strong popular consensus exists for the change.

What does self-government mean? Self-government means people govern themselves through representatives they choose, rather than being ruled by kings, dictators, or foreign powers. The people make the fundamental decisions about how they will be governed.

Is popular sovereignty the same as democracy? Related but not identical. Popular sovereignty says power comes from the people. Democracy is a system where the people exercise power directly or through elected representatives. Popular sovereignty is the principle, democracy is one way to implement it.

Why did the Articles of Confederation use different words? The Articles created a confederation of state governments, not a national government of the people. It began “We the undersigned Delegates of the States” because states, not people directly, were forming that confederation.

Do other countries use similar language? Some do. Many democratic constitutions include language about popular sovereignty. But “We the People” has become distinctly associated with American constitutionalism and is often quoted around the world.

What should I memorize for the test? Memorize exactly: “We the People.” These are the first three words of the Constitution. The question may also ask what idea of self-government is in these words, and the answer is that the people hold power and create government.