President and federalism have roots in Roman history; and the Roman term Senate was applied by the Framers of the American Constitution to the more select house of the legislative branch of their federal government, although the method of selecting senators in America was to be very different from what it had been in Rome.

Hamilton, Jay, and Madison, the authors of The Federalist, wrote in the name of Publius, a reference to Publius Valerius Publicola, the ancient Roman famous for his defense of the Roman Republic.

Washington patterned his conduct in war and politics on that of Cincinnatus, the great Roman patriot and statesman who never sought power for himself, who answered Rome’s call when he was needed and returned to the plow when the crisis had passed.

The actual forms of checks and balances that the Americans incorporated into their Constitution in 1787, were derived from English precedent and from American colonial experience, rather than directly from the Roman model.

Our first state constitutions contained three major weaknesses, all of which were known and avoided in the Philadelphia Convention of 1787.

First, they all failed to provide for an adequate system of separation of powers. Most of them established three separate and distinct branches of government, with no overlapping personnel; but the men who drafted them thought in terms of a “pure” separation and did not understand the need for checks and balances. As a result, political power tended to concentrate in the legislatures, which in turn often ruled in an arbitrary manner, tyrannizing over the other branches and oppressing the people, particularly disfavored minority groups.

Second, all of these first constitutions, with the exception of New York’s, failed to establish an independent executive. In most cases, governors were appointed by and answerable to the legislatures, and their powers were severely restricted. Even those governors who enjoyed a semblance of authority found it difficult to protect their office because they lacked sufficient means by which to check legislative encroachments.

Third, all of these first constitutions lacked a provision establishing the constitution as the supreme law. One factor contributing greatly to the problem of legislative supremacy in the period between 1776 and 1787 was the common assumption that legislators were the sole judges of their own constitutional powers. Too few lawyers of the day believed that a State court had the right to declare a statute invalid on the ground that it violated the State 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. 

We the People of the United States
Joseph Story, an eminent judge early in our Republic, notes the preamble reads, "We, the people of the United States," not, We, the state. The framers substituted a government of the people, for a confederacy of states. These words also acknowledge the states were not mere administrative districts of the national government.

Equally important, Americans reject the idea that rights emanate from the government. In Federalist 84, Hamilton explains, “Here, in strictness, the people surrender nothing, and as they retain every thing, they have no need of particular reservations.” We the people …in order to secure the blessings of liberty, is recognition of our popular rights.

Government derives its powers from the governed and protects our rights.

In Order to form a more perfect Union
Under the US Constitution, our country achieves a more perfect union than was accomplished under the Articles of Confederation. Political power is distributed between the Federal and State governments.

Taking into account the smaller States’ claims to equality with the larger States, and the richer and more populous States’ claims to greater representation, the Federal Legislature represents the entire country. A state legislature represents Americans living in a particular state.

The President is given power to act with diplomatic and military decisiveness, yet may not encroach on legislative and judicial authority. The Federal Judiciary rules on cases outside a states’ judicial authority and is expected to uphold the intent behind the Constitution when interpreting or determining when laws are unconstitutional.

Establish Justice
Customary practices and legal institutions inherited from the Articles of Confederation, colonial governments, and England’s legal system were incorporated in the US Constitution. Rights, such as trial by jury, were preserved. By establishing an independent Supreme Court and a uniform court system, legal cases falling under the authority of the Constitution could be heard.

In Marbury v. Madison, by declaring an act of Congress unconstitutional, the Supreme Court established the power of judicial review for federal judges. Today, the Supreme Court has the final word on the meaning of the Constitution, though the people have the power to amend it. 

Our system of justice is one of the fairest in the world. Every citizen is treated equally under the law. 

Insure Domestic Tranquility
Under the Articles of Confederation, farm foreclosures in Massachusetts led to rioting against high taxation, the governor's salary, high court costs and the assembly's refusal to issue paper money. Daniel Shays and his men closed down the Supreme Court, broke into the jail to free imprisoned debtors, and burned the barns of some government officials.

Elsewhere, Congress could not resolve interstate territorial disputes in Pennsylvania and Vermont.

In Federalist # 10, James Madison argued that without a strong vigorous central government, the states would be vulnerable to movements motivated by "a rage for paper money, for an abolition of debts, for an equal division of property" and for other "improper or wicked project[s]."

Stronger central government would ensure domestic tranquility. 

Provide for the Common Defense
Nations must be able to defend themselves, secure their borders and protect their citizens at sea. Under the Articles of Confederation, our central government was unable to provide adequate protection.

The government could not compel either the states or Great Britain to fully comply with the peace treaty of 1783 and England continued running its fur trading operations. Spain closed the Mississippi to American navigation. The Barbary Pirates of Northern Africa levied heavy duties on American vessels operating in international waters and enslaved crewmembers who resisted. Congress could not agree over a U.S. foreign policy response.

Under the new US Constitution, our country would have the means to raise and support an army and a navy to defend ourselves.

Promote the general Welfare
Under the Articles of Confederation, states engaged in tariff wars and issued large sums of unguaranteed currency, leading them to the brink of bankruptcy. Without a system of taxation, central government relied on the states for operating funds. Congress, begging for funds from the states, verged on default of its own obligations.

Bad economic conditions forced many western frontiersmen to take the Spanish Governor of New Orleans up on his offer to renounce their allegiance to the United States in exchange for the use of the Mississippi River.

Only by establishing justice, insuring tranquility, and providing defense could the general welfare of the states and all citizens be promoted. A strong government would encourage expansion of land holdings, industry, and investment.

Secure the Blessings of Liberty to Ourselves and our Posterity
The anti-federalist, George Mason, said, “When the same man, or set of men, holds the sword and the purse, there is an end of liberty.”

Mason advocated individual and states’ rights during the Constitutional Convention. Beliefs about liberty prevented him from signing the Constitution because slavery wasn’t abolished and it lacked a Bill of Rights. 

Ben Franklin opposed slavery by then, yet consented to the Constitution, noting, “I expect no better, and because I am not sure that it is not the best.”

To ensure their liberty, safeguards were created -- checks and balances, bicameral legislatures, and federalism. The people and the states delegated certain limited powers to the federal government, which was itself separated and limited in its powers.

Ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America
The last clause of the Preamble, “Ordain and establish this Constitution” completes the thought that the law of our land, the law we named the Constitution, originates from “We the people,” not a king or those who hold power. The Constitution now replaces the Articles of Confederation as the fundamental law over the United States.

Joseph Story, an Eminent judge during the early decades of the Republic believed the word choices of “ordain” and “establish” were deliberate because these words conferred legal obligation and permanence regarding our rule of law. This law was established by decree, commanded by the people who consent to their rule. Only “We the People” are authorized to alter or abolish the Constitution.

For more information:
The Founders' Constitution
Preamble to the United States Constitution
The Preamble to the Constitution
Articles of Confederation
America and the Barbary Pirates: An International Battle Against an Unconventional Foe
The Philosophic Concept of Liberty