1787: The painting "Signing the Constitution of the United States" by Thomas Pritchard Rossiter. Painted in 1878, it resides at Independence National Historical Park, in Philadelphia, Penn. MPI/Getty Images
The Declaration of Independence expressed a common American creed: All are born equal before God and the law; God bestows humans with natural rights; some of these rights are unalienable (untransferable); it’s the purpose of government to secure them; and if a government incorrigibly fails to do so, the people should replace it.
Rob Natelson
Author
Robert G. Natelson, a former constitutional law professor who is senior fellow in constitutional jurisprudence at the Independence Institute in Denver, authored “The Original Constitution” (4th ed., 2025). He is a contributor to The Heritage Foundation’s “Heritage Guide to the Constitution.” He also researched and wrote the scholarly article “Virgil and the Constitution,” whose publication is pending in Regent University Law Review.
