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| | George Washington, who presided over the Constitutional Convention that created the new Constitution, explained that it had two great features:<ref name="Washington Letter to Lafayette"/> | | George Washington, who presided over the Constitutional Convention that created the new Constitution, explained that it had two great features:<ref name="Washington Letter to Lafayette"/> |
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| | {{cquote|1st That the general Government is not invested with more Powers than are indispensably necessary to perform [the] functions of a good Government; and, consequently, that no objection ought to be made against the quantity of Power delegated to it. | | {{cquote|1st That the general Government is not invested with more Powers than are indispensably necessary to perform [the] functions of a good Government; and, consequently, that no objection ought to be made against the quantity of Power delegated to it. |
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| | Notice the condition that George Washington included at the end: "so long as there shall remain any virtue in the body of the People." The Founders knew that the Constitution would not last unless the people continued to be moral and virtuous. John Adams, another Founder and the second President after Washington, said that "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."<ref>John Adams, October 11, 1798.</ref> | | Notice the condition that George Washington included at the end: "so long as there shall remain any virtue in the body of the People." The Founders knew that the Constitution would not last unless the people continued to be moral and virtuous. John Adams, another Founder and the second President after Washington, said that "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."<ref>John Adams, October 11, 1798.</ref> |
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| | + | == The Preamble == |
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| | + | The Constitution has a Preamble, which was added at the last minuted by Gouverneur Morris, a delegate from Pennsylvania who wrote the final text of the Constitution as part of his duties on the Committee of Style. |
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| | + | "Gouverneur" was the French (Huguenot) maiden last name of his mother, and is not to be confused with "governor". Gouverneur Morris was never a governor, but he was homeschooled by tutors and entered college (Columbia University, then called King's College) at the age of 12. He was brilliant and is sometimes called the "Penman of the Constitution." He gave more speeches than anyone else at the Constitutional Convention, a total of 173. He favored a stronger national government. On the personal side, Gouverneur Morris lost one of his legs as a young man, due to a freak carriage accident (there were no cars then). He did not marry until he was 57 years old, |
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| | + | He wrote the Preamble to the Constitution, which introduces the document like a fine ornament: |
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| | == The ''Federalist Papers'' == | | == The ''Federalist Papers'' == |