The Constitution and "We, the People of the United States"

I'm Walter Isaacson i'm here with Professor Joseph Ellis we've been talking about the Constitution and I think we should conclude with what may have been the greatest editing job in the history of editing I think so too this makes the top of my list tell us what you're talking about you know that very beginning of the Constitution those profound seven words we the people of the United States that's not actually how they started in the first draft right no the first draft would we the people of the states of New Hampshire Massachusetts then went down the east coast so that the initial draft was a statement about this as a document coming from the states and acknowledging the authority of the states one person on his own without any sanction from anybody else or direction rewrote it this is google uma governor Morris tell me about him tall peg-legged guy famous ladies man rock comp tour great sense of humor great sense of humor great wit his letters are always full of an unbelievable with lyrical sentences and there he what he becomes American ambassador to France a few years later he's but he has a very good pen in other words it's a sharp simple at it and so what he does is he takes the opening and just says we the people of the United States to me it seems that does two things let's parse it almost phrase by phrase we the people what does that mean it is we the people who are the source of authority of this document and he's folding all of us all different people into that category of the people but you know this is a big deal because up until then the King had served by the Divine Right of Kings it was the Lord of you know that gives the power to the government and then the other way to give a power to government was the states could agree to give power to a national government but he is saying that the power of this government comes from we the people it doesn't come from the bottom items from below and flows upward and it might be filtered along the way as we've suggested and it made the cut the Declaration of indepen sets that up with saying the consent of the governed that's right has a concept we're going to be built the basic Lockean idea but here it's only referred to rhapsodic lee as a kind of an overture the declaration here it is the basis for the government the framework for the government itself and guna Mars does this on his own and it is the reason why we can say that this is a revolution you know it is probably the most profound first three words since the Bible which has a nice opening within the beginning but we the people opening it up sets the stage it seems for the notion that it's not just something set in stone but we're going to grow because originally we the people wasn't everybody but it becomes almost a mandate it's at this point in history there is no such thing as the American people there Virginians in Massachusetts and New Englanders and things like that people don't think of themselves as Americans they will grow into this meaning however and also what they do is that they grow into we the people not just meaning white male landowners which is probably what they meant when they wrote those words but the narrative of American history is to help define what we the people means and have it constantly enlarged and to make it the full phrase it's we the people of the United States nail finally we've become one nation the people of the United States as opposed to the people of the several and different states and it's clear in the first sentence even though it's compromised in the document but this is the preamble that is going to live forever and it's a preamble that sets forth how this document is supposed to breathe a more perfect union that establishes justice domestic tranquility provide for the common defense and most importantly promotes the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity it's almost like a mission statement that begins with us amazingly profound first three words you making me ready to cry here that's what the Constitution should do and inspire us and it does thank you