The Preamble to the United States Constitution
You are typing on the on-screen keyboard. Tap the text to open it and begin.
Caps Lock is on. Every letter comes out capital, so the test counts it as a mistake.
Or simply start typing.
- Time so far
- 0
- Words per minute
- 0
- Accuracy
- 100%
Done. The text and your result
0 % of characters hit
Where you slip most often
Darker keys collected more mistakes in this run.
What slowed you down
The characters your finger missed most often.
Your recent results
Words per minute across your recent runs in this language.
What to type next
Law and constitutionsUS Constitution, Article III: the courtsConstitutional Convention, published 1787The clause that creates the Supreme Court and protects the standing of judges.hard405 characters
Law and constitutionsBill of Rights: the First AmendmentUnited States Congress, published 1791The article that covers religion, speech, the press, assembly, and petition in a single sentence.medium272 characters
ProseLittle Women, the gray dawn of ChristmasLouisa May Alcott, published 1868Jo wakes early on Christmas morning and finds the gift her mother promised.easy363 characters
The Federal Convention in Philadelphia agreed on the final text on September 17, 1787, and thirty-nine of the forty-two delegates present signed it. Gouverneur Morris, writing for the Committee of Style, replaced a list of the thirteen states with the three words We the People. The sentence sets out six purposes, from establishing justice to securing liberty. Wikisource carries the full document in the edition used by the United States House of Representatives.
Where this text comes fromThe version linked below is the one the United States House of Representatives uses, which matters because it reproduces the 1787 spelling and capitalization rather than tidying them. That is why you will type defence with a c and insure where a modern drafter would put ensure. What you copy is the Preamble entire, from the first word to the closing period, and the heading of the first article begins immediately after it in the document. Gouverneur Morris shaped these lines for the Committee of Style in the last days of the convention.
What you might not noticeThe Preamble is a single sentence of fifty-two words with seven commas and one full stop at the very end. It names no state, no branch of government and no office, which is unusual for a legal text that goes on to build all three. Source
What it trainsSixteen capital letters in 327 characters, and fifteen of them fall in the middle of the sentence: Order, Union, Justice, Tranquility, Welfare, Blessings, Liberty, Posterity. Eighteenth-century drafters capitalized important nouns the way German still does, so the Shift key works on meaning rather than on grammar, and there is no rule you can lean on to predict the next one. Two spellings will fight anyone who types English daily: defence and insure. Seven commas separate the six purposes into a list that reads fast and copies slowly, because every item ends the same way.
More about this textWhy the Constitution Begins With We the People
Public domain status: an official document, outside copyright protection. public domain, U.S. National Archives
More texts in this category
Law and constitutionsBill of Rights: the First AmendmentUnited States Congress, published 1791The article that covers religion, speech, the press, assembly, and petition in a single sentence.medium272 characters
Law and constitutionsBill of Rights: the Fourth AmendmentUnited States Congress, published 1791The rule that searches need probable cause and a warrant naming the place and the things.hard332 characters
Law and constitutionsDeclaration of Independence: unalienable rightsSecond Continental Congress, published 1776The single sentence on equality and unalienable rights that the whole document rests on.hard212 characters
Law and constitutionsMagna Carta: the liberties of the citiesKing John of England, published 1215The clause granting London and every other town and port their ancient liberties and free customs.medium242 characters
Law and constitutionsHuman Rights Declaration, Articles 1 and 2United Nations General Assembly, published 1948The two opening articles, on dignity and reason and on rights without distinction.hard431 characters
Law and constitutionsUS Constitution, Article III: the courtsConstitutional Convention, published 1787The clause that creates the Supreme Court and protects the standing of judges.hard405 characters