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'''Unalienable rights''' also spelled '''inalienable rights''' are permanent rights belonging to citizens which can never be taken away by legitimate government action. [[Thomas Jefferson]] made the concept famous in the [[Declaration of Independence]] in 1776, and it forms a bedrock of American political values or [[Republicanism]].  In recent years other vcountries, such as Canada, have declared similar constitutional rights.

'''Unalienable rights''' also spelled '''inalienable rights''' are permanent rights belonging to individuals which can never be taken away by legitimate government action. [[Thomas Jefferson]] made the concept famous in the [[Declaration of Independence]] in 1776, and it forms a bedrock of American political values or [[Republicanism]].  In recent years other countries, such as Canada, have declared similar constitutional rights.

All men are endowed with certain attributes, powers, freedoms, and legal protections.  These rights are thus inseparable -- or ''unalienable'' -- from each person individually and from the human race as a whole.  They are a gift from the [[Creator]] and it is impossible for government to alter or nullify mankind’s divine inheritance.  Except in extremely rare and limited circumstances, the unalienable rights of a particular individual, or the population at large, cannot be suspended, abrogated, or diminished by government -- and then only to the extent necessary to address the instant emergency.  (See "Legitimate Exceptions" below.) Unalienable rights automatically belong to each individual at the moment his or her life begins and continue throughout that person’s time on earth.  Unalienable rights are often referred to as ''God-given''.

All men are endowed with certain attributes, powers, freedoms, and legal protections.  These rights are thus inseparable -- or ''unalienable'' -- from each person individually and from the human race as a whole.  They were bestowed by the Creator and must not be dropped.  Except in limited circumstances, the unalienable rights of a particular individual, or the population at large, cannot be suspended, abrogated, or diminished by government -- and then only to the extent necessary to address the instant emergency.  (See "Legitimate Exceptions" below.) Unalienable rights are often referred to as ''God-given''.

There can never be an exhaustive list of the unalienable rights, for rights are continuously discovered and appreciated.  [[James Madison]], in compiling the amendments that became the [[Bill of Rights]] in 1791, worked through hundreds of variations that were current in the literature of the [[American Revolution]].

There can never be an exhaustive list of the unalienable rights, for rights are continuously discovered and appreciated.  [[James Madison]], in compiling the amendments that became the [[Bill of Rights]] in 1791, worked through hundreds of variations that were current in the literature of the [[American Revolution]].

#To act in self-defense (personal, family, innocents, nation).

#To act in self-defense  

#To own and carry weapons for self-defense and for ensuring that the nation remains free.

#To own and carry weapons for self-defense and for ensuring that the nation remains free.

#To own and control private property (land, money, personal items, intellectual property, etc.)

#To own and control private property (land, money, personal items, intellectual property, etc.)

#To earn a living and keep the fruit of one’s labor.

#To earn a living and keep the fruit of one’s labor.

#To worship -- or not worship -- God in the manner one chooses.

#To worship -- or not worship -- God in the manner one chooses.

#To associate with -- or disassociate from -- any person or group.

#To associate with -- or disassociate from -- any person or group.

#To be tried by a jury of one’s peers and face one’s accuser, in the event of being charged with a crime.

#To be tried by a jury of one’s peers and face one’s accuser, in the event of being charged with a crime.

#To be tried by a jury of one’s peers, in the event of a suit in which the disputed amount is substantive.

#To be tried by a jury of one’s peers, in the event of a suit in which the disputed amount is substantive.

#To suffer no cruel or unusual punishment, if found guilty of a crime.

#To suffer no cruel or unusual punishment

#To establish, monitor, control, and petition a “servant government” to help secure the above rights.

#To establish, monitor, control, and petition the government to help secure the above rights.

#To abolish said government, when it becomes destructive of these rights.

#To abolish said government, when it becomes destructive of these rights.

== Early History in America ==

== Early History in America ==

The concept of unalienable rights in America extends as far back as 1620, when the first Pilgrims arrived on the shores of what is now [[Massachusetts]], in search of religious freedom. According to Governor William Bradford, it was the unending attack on the rights of religious minorities in [[Britain]] which convinced the [[Pilgrims]] that leaving [[England]] was the only way to secure their liberties:  

The concept of unalienable rights in America extends as far back as 1620, when the first Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth, [[Massachusetts]]. According to Governor William Bradford, it was the unending attack on the rights of religious minorities in Britain which convinced the [[Pilgrims]] that leaving was the only way to secure their liberties:  

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“The one side laboured to have the right worship of God and discipline of Christ established in the church…  The other partie…endevored to have the episcopall dignitie (after the popish manner) with their large power and jurisdiction still retained; with all those courts, cannons, and ceremonies, together with all such livings, revenues, and subordinate officers, with other such means as formerly upheld their [[antichristian]] greatnes, and enabled them with lordly and tyranous power to persecute the poore servants of God.”  (''History of Plymouth Plantation'')

“The one side laboured to have the right worship of God and discipline of Christ established in the church…  The other partie…endevored to have the episcopall dignitie (after the popish manner) with their large power and jurisdiction still retained; with all those courts, cannons, and ceremonies, together with all such livings, revenues, and subordinate officers, with other such means as formerly upheld their antichristian greatnes, and enabled them with lordly and tyranous power to persecute the poore servants of God.”  (''History of Plymouth Plantation'')

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As these early Christian communities continued to grow and flourish in the new world, the notion that each individual possesses inherent dignity, value, and freedoms which the government ought to protect, became a recurring theme in political discussions and in religious writings and sermons.   

As these early Christian communities continued to grow and flourish in the new world, the notion that each individual possesses inherent dignity, value, and freedoms which the government ought to protect, became a recurring theme in political discussions and in religious writings and sermons.