Project and read aloud as a class the Preamble to the U.S. 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 defense, 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.”

Teacher Note: The definition of the preamble is “an introductory statement especially the introductory part of a constitution or statute that usually states the reasons for and intent of the law.” The Preamble to the U.S. Constitution was created at the Constitutional Convention in the summer of 1787. It was intended to introduce the Constitution and explain its purpose and was never meant to outline additional powers of government.

Discuss as a class: 

*What do you think is the purpose of the Preamble? 

*What is being proclaimed?

*How does the Preamble reflect the Founders' values and their goals for the future of the United States?

Teacher Note: The following film clip is excerpted directly from Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union and helps to deepen student understanding of contemporary applications of the ideals and values of a more perfect union.

Introduce the film clip with a short discussion on the title of the documentary Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union.

*How do you understand the difference in meaning between the phrasing in the Preamble, “in Order to form a more perfect Union,” and the title of the documentary Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union?

*What do you think the filmmakers are suggesting?

Watch Film Clips: Episode One 

Teacher Note: Introduce the film clips and distribute Handout One, Lesson Two: Film Transcripts for students to follow along.

Clip One: DNC 2004 (5:19)

Teacher Note: Clip One begins after Barack Obama won the Illinois Democratic primary for U.S. Senator. It goes on to examine his rise to national attention after delivering the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic Convention in Boston, MA,  where John Kerry was nominated as the party’s candidate for president. 

Clip Two: E Pluribus Unum (5:15)

Teacher Note: Clip Two focuses on the speech itself and offers different points of view from scholars and journalists on the role it played in laying out Obama’spolitical vision.

Clip Discussion Prompts: 

*Barack Obama weaves into his speech the traditional motto of the United States, “E Pluribus Unum,” translated as “out of many, one.” How do you think this motto reflects the ideal of a more perfect union?

*What do you think is the American dream of possibility that Obama references?

*After the closing of his speech a news reporter said, “This is a guy who transcends labels, clichés, racial, ideological, cultural. He mixed it all up, he reinvented it; he gave us a whole new vision of the United States. This guy’s going places.” What did you hear as this new vision of the United States?

Distribute Handout Two, Lesson Two: Keynote Address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and have students revisit the speech, this time in its entirety.  

*Have students underline words and phrases they identify as Obama’s expression and vision of a more perfect union. Point out that some of Handout One were in the film clip, but this is the whole speech, so they should pay attention to context clues.

*What rhetorical devices does Obama use and repeat to connect himself with the values and ideals of a more perfect union?

Teacher Note: The filmmakers conducted nearly 40 interviews to produce Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union. The full recordings of these are available in the Interview Archive on the Kunhardt Film Foundation website. A selection of these interviews, edited together here to create interview threads and aligned to the specific lesson topic, are available for your student’s learning. 

For this lesson, two interview threads were created to deepen students’ understanding of Obama’s vision of a more perfect union and how others understood, accepted, and were critical of this vision.

Print and distribute Handout Three, Lesson Two: Interview Transcripts. Have students watch the interviews and follow along on the transcripts. Underline details that catch their attention, and jot down questions and insights that come to mind. 

Thread One: Obama’s Visions of A More Perfect Union

David Axelrod and Jon Favreau share their recollections of Obama’s Senate campaign and the foundation of his political vision.

Thread Two: Perspectives on Obama and A More Perfect Union

Friends, scholars, journalists, and colleagues including Sherrilyn Ifill, David Remnick, Martin Nesbitt, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Henry Louis Gates offer personal insights and valuable historical context to the significance of being elected as the first Black president of the United States.

Return to The Venn Diagram Handout. Have students reflect on their learning from Lesson Two using the film clips, interviews, primary documents, and class discussions, and add their ideas within each circle. 

If helpful, use these specific prompts to get students started:

You circle: What have you learned about your vision and values of a more perfect union? 

Obama circle: What have you learned about Barack Obama’s vision of a more perfect union?

America circle: In general, what have you learned about American ideals of a more perfect union? 

Overlaps: Add ideas to the overlapping spaces with the vision and ideals of a more perfect union in mind.