Question: what is the purpose of the preamble of the u.s. constitution

title: Preamble to the United States Constitution
text: An example of the way courts utilize the Preamble is Ellis v. City of Grand Rapids . Substantively , the case was about eminent domain . The City of Grand Rapids wanted to use eminent domain to force landowners to sell property in the city identified as `` blighted '' , and convey the property to owners that would develop it in ostensibly beneficial ways : in this case , to St. Mary 's Hospital , a Catholic organization . This area of substantive constitutional law is governed by the Fifth Amendment , which is understood to require that property acquired via eminent domain must be put to a `` public use '' . In deciding whether the proposed project constituted a `` public use '' , the court pointed to the Preamble 's reference to `` promot ( ing ) the general Welfare '' as evidence that `` ( t ) he health of the people was in the minds of our forefathers '' . `` ( T ) he concerted effort for renewal and expansion of hospital and medical care centers , as a part of our nation 's system of hospitals , is as a public service and use within the highest meaning of such terms . Surely this is in accord with an objective of the United States Constitution : ' * * * promote the general Welfare . ' ''