129
edits
Changes
no edit summary
== 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 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:
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:
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
Other pilgrims soon followed those carried by the ''[[Mayflower]]''.
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. Preachers, pastors, civic leaders, and lawyers drew extensively from the [[Bible|Bible’s]] teachings on morality, Creation, and the nature of God to support this position, and the American public was very receptive. By 1775 the concept of unalienable rights was firmly entrenched in the collective consciousness of the thirteen colonies, having been sharpened by decades of abuse and taxation under British colonial rule. The time was right for change. In the hope of achieving a new political construct dedicated to preserving each person’s God-given rights and liberties, American patriots severed all ties with the British Crown and initiated a [[Revolutionary War|daring war]] against the most powerful nation at that time:
<blockquote>
* “When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. 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, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”<br />-- [[Declaration of Independence|The Declaration of Independence]] (1776)
</blockquote>
[[Samuel Adams]] had declared
<blockquote>
* “For the principle aim of society is to protect individuals in the enjoyment of those '''absolute rights''', which were vested in them by the immutable laws of nature.”<br />-- [[William Blackstone]], Authority on English Law
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
* “[A]ll men are born equally free," and possess "certain '''inherent natural rights''', of which they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity.”<br />-- [[George Mason]], Father of the Bill of Rights
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
* “To this manly spirit, posterity will be indebted for the possession, and the world for the example, of the numerous innovations displayed on the American theatre, <br />in favor of '''private rights''' and public happiness.”<br />-- [[James Madison]], Father of the Constitution
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
* “Nothing then is unchangeable but the '''inherent and inalienable rights''' of man.”<br />-- [[Thomas Jefferson]], Author of the [[Declaration of Independence]]
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
* “Among the '''natural rights''' of the colonists are these: First a right to life, secondly to liberty, thirdly to property; together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can.”<br />-- [[Samuel Adams]], American Statesman and Patriot
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
* “The public good is in nothing more essentially interested, than in the protection of every individual's '''private rights'''.”<br />-- [[William Blackstone]], Authority on English Law
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
* “The principle view of human law is, or ought always to be, to explain, protect, and enforce '''such rights''' as are absolute.”<br />-- [[William Blackstone]]
</blockquote>
The successful conclusion of the [[Revolutionary War|War for Independence]] in 1783 left the Americans free of their British oppressors, but faced with the daunting task of creating a new type of government that would transform the dream of ''universally protected God-given rights'' into a practical reality. Nothing like this before had ever been attempted. Consequently, the representatives of the thirteen states who assembled for the constitutional convention in Philadelphia (1787) had no illusions that the destiny of the new nation lay in their hands. To their great credit, they soon produced a legal manuscript which is arguably the greatest charter of liberty the world has ever known: the Constitution of the United States of America. This document, along with its first ten amendments -- commonly called the Bill of Rights -- set forth the framework and mechanisms by which the unalienable rights of the People would be recognized and protected from overreaching officials. Simply put, the Constitution establishes a limited government (a [[Constitutional Republic]]) that is empowered to protect the unalienable rights of the People, and is prohibited from doing virtually anything else. After two hundred years, the principle of unalienable rights, though buffeted by statism, atheism, communism, and individual ambition, remains at the core of American political, legal, economic, and social theory:
<blockquote>
*“The Conventions of a number of the States having at the time of their adopting the [[Constitution]], expressed a desire, in order '''to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers''', that further '''declaratory and restrictive clauses''' should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best insure the beneficent ends of its institution.”<br />-- Preamble to the [[Bill of Rights]]<br />(NOTE: This means the Bill of Rights is not a ''grant'' of rights, but a ''prohibition'' against government infringement. It also means the Bill of Rights takes precedence over the main body of the Constitution.)</blockquote>
<blockquote>
* “The '''right of the individual against the State''' has ever been one of our most cherished political principles. The American Constitution has set down for all men to see the essentially Christian and American principle that there are '''certain rights''' held by every man which no government and no majority, however powerful, can deny. Conceived in Grecian thought, strengthened by Christian morality, and stamped indelibly into American political philosophy, the '''right of the individual against the State''' is the keystone of our Constitution. Each man is free.”<br />-- President [[John F. Kennedy]]
* “The '''right of the individual against the State''' has ever been one of our most cherished political principles. The American Constitution has set down for all men to see the essentially Christian and American principle that there are '''certain rights''' held by every man which no government and no majority, however powerful, can deny. Conceived in Grecian thought, strengthened by Christian morality, and stamped indelibly into American political philosophy, the '''right of the individual against the State''' is the keystone of our Constitution. Each man is free.”<br />-- President [[John F. Kennedy]]
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
* “All men are made in the image of God; all men are brothers; all men are created equal; every man is heir to a legacy of dignity and worth; every man has '''rights''' that are neither conferred by nor derived from the state, they are '''God-given'''.”<br />-- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
* “All men are made in the image of God; all men are brothers; all men are created equal; every man is heir to a legacy of dignity and worth; every man has '''rights''' that are neither conferred by nor derived from the state, they are '''God-given'''.”<br />-- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
* “Freedom is one of the deepest and noblest aspirations of the human spirit. People, worldwide, hunger for the right of self-determination, [and] for those '''inalienable rights''' that make for human dignity and progress.”<br />-- President Ronald Reagan
* “Freedom is one of the deepest and noblest aspirations of the human spirit. People, worldwide, hunger for the right of self-determination, [and] for those '''inalienable rights''' that make for human dignity and progress.”<br />-- President Ronald Reagan
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
* “As drafters of our '''Bill of Rights''', the Framers inscribed the principles that control today. Any deviation from their intentions frustrates the permanence of that Charter…”<br />-- Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court William Rehnquist
* “As drafters of our '''Bill of Rights''', the Framers inscribed the principles that control today. Any deviation from their intentions frustrates the permanence of that Charter…”<br />-- Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court William Rehnquist
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
== Legitimate Exceptions ==
== Legitimate Exceptions ==