Our Constitution gives us “authority to organize,” and our Bylaws explain “expectations and responsibilities.”
The most important thing for all members to know and understand is the AMERICAN LEGION PREAMBLE. It is paramount to us as an assembly of members with a common purpose. What is our “purpose?” “Why do we stand and recite at every meeting of any type or importance and as an American Legion unit of one?” The answer is in the words to the Preamble. It is the basis for our very existence as a Federally Chartered “The American Legion.”
Preamble to the Constitution
FOR GOD AND COUNTRY WE ASSOCIATE OURSELVES TOGETHER
FOR THE FOLLOWING PURPOSES:
To uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America;
- To maintain law and order;
- To foster and perpetuate a one hundred percent Americanism;
- To preserve the memories and incidents of our associations in all wars;
- To inculcate a sense of individual obligation to the community, state and nation;
- To combat the autocracy of both the classes and the masses;
- To make right the master of might;
- To promote peace and goodwill on earth;
- To safeguard and transmit to posterity the principles of justice, freedom and democracy;
- To consecrate and sanctify our comradeship by our devotion to mutual helpfulness.
Preamble interpretation:
Documents:
- American Legion National Constitution and By-Laws
- Federal Charter
- Department of North Carolina Consitution and Bylaws
- Chapel Hill Post No. 6, American Legion, Incorporated Constitution and Bylaws, 2024
Post Constitution and Bylaws, were approved on March 12, 2024
For more information on Post Bylaws, Officer Elections, and Post Officer duties, be sure to view the linked page, Post Bylaws Update Notice 2024.