The Constitution of the United States, part 1
a journey into American history, post #4
AUTHOR’S NOTE: my journey into learning US history is a series for paid subscribers. The first entry is not paywalled, and will give you an example of what the series will be like. If you’d like to subscribe and read them all, as well as gain the ability to comment, I’ve put annual subscriptions 10% off at this link. As always, if you can’t afford a paid subscription, email and I’ll give you a free year. hollymathnerd at gmail dot com.
I told a friend about this project, who said, “This will either grow your Substack or kill it, and I really have no idea which, though I suspect it may be the latter.” He may be right (gulp). We’ll see. But I’m enjoying this more than I’ve enjoyed anything in a long time, so I’m hooked.
Lots of pictures in this one — go to the Substack website if your email client freaks out.
The Constitution of the United States, Part 1
The Preamble to the Constitution
“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.”
I have an 1828 dictionary now. Reading the preamble in the context of the definitions that were contemporary to the writers is astonishing and enlightening, far beyond what I could have imagined when I started this project.