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.
- the constitution.
However, the Declaration of Independence says:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,
I've personally interpreted this as meaning that we USA folks believe these rights should apply to everyone, but we're only taking responsibility for our own folks, in general. We'd like to help others, and can, but we don't guarantee it.
I think having a set of rules or ideas to apply to everyone, but foremost start with taking responsibility for those who live under the governance of those rules makes a whole lot more sense than "screw everyone who is not us".
From my University US history class, this is how my professor described how slavery was allowed by the Constitution: the founding fathers were generally against slavery (at least some of them), but they knew that Americans would never agree to the terms of the Constitution if it included abolishing slavery. From what I understand, the founding fathers decided to just let the system work itself out.
However, the Declaration of Independence says:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,
I've personally interpreted this as meaning that we USA folks believe these rights should apply to everyone, but we're only taking responsibility for our own folks, in general. We'd like to help others, and can, but we don't guarantee it.
Not sure that's sound, but that's my take.