African American Preamble Essay

In the context of this class, and after learning about the history of African-American’s, or the black race, this entire preamble needs to be re-written if we are to say that it represents all Americans, or the “People of the United States.” In no way, shape, or form does this preamble to the Constitution represent equality, or togetherness as a society. At the time that the document was signed on September 17, 1787 and ratified on June 21, 1788, the Constitution included the Three-Fifths Compromise, found in Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3. This compromise meant that only 3 out of every 5 slaves would be counted as persons, so as to provide the southern states with more seats in the House of Representatives and more electoral votes. In addition …show more content…
The state of our current government seems to be putting a damper on this, but for the sake of this essay, I will make the point that as a society we are much more diverse, equal, and unified, than the society that existed in 1787-88. Our society today includes many strong black power figures; our recent president, athletes, artists, and motivational public figures/speakers, whereas black people were not allowed to hold these positions, much less help with the writing of the Constitution, when the document was being written. So again, why should we use this Preamble when part of our nations people were not even allowed to participate in this action? The Preamble leads one to think that we want to have a “perfect Union” and provide justice and protection for all. If our nation wants us to believe this is true, then the phrase “We the People of the United States”, should be revised. It should read: We the People of the United States, including all skin colors and ethnicities…. To me, without this addition, I still feel as though we are taking on the original thoughts of the authors who wrote the constitution in 1787-88, who intended to exclude the black race. It is unsettling to think that these words have not been