The Values in the Constitution

The Values in the Constitution
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
|Updated:
Commentary

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
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: What It Actually Said and Meant” (3rd ed., 2015). He is a contributor to The Heritage Foundation’s “Heritage Guide to the Constitution.”
Related Topics