America Was Shaped by Natural Law
Our country was shaped by the very powerful idea of natural law. The Founding Fathers studied and respected natural law as a principle that guided their beliefs and actions when creating our form of government.
What Is Natural Law?
Natural law can be understood as a system of right or justice that belongs to all people by virtue of being human. It is not created by government or custom, but discovered through reason and human nature.
It includes those moral rules that people everywhere recognize intuitively—such as not to murder, steal, or lie—because these acts violate what is right and just.
Natural law teaches that certain truths exist above human law. These truths are part of the moral order of the universe and cannot rightly be changed by kings, parliaments, or congresses.
When Natural Law Is Violated
When governments or rulers make laws that contradict natural law, society suffers. History shows that such violations lead to injustice, oppression, and often violent struggle.
This is exactly what happened when the American colonists declared their independence from Great Britain. They believed the King had broken the higher law that protects the natural rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Violations Listed in the Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence lists many grievances against King George III—each one a violation of the natural rights of the colonists. Among these were:
- Denying the colonies the right to self-government
- Stationing standing armies in peacetime without consent
- Imposing taxes without representation and cutting off trade
- Quartering troops in people’s homes and protecting them from punishment through mock trials
- Waging war on the colonies, plundering coasts and towns, and stirring up violence with hired mercenaries
These acts denied the people’s right to liberty, property, justice, and security. When a government becomes destructive of these ends, natural law holds that people have not only the right but the duty to change or abolish it.
The Continuing Struggle for Natural Law
The fight for natural law did not end with independence. Many of the Founders recognized that slavery itself was a violation of natural law. The violent aftermath of that injustice—from the slave revolts to the Civil War to the struggles for civil rights—shows what happens when moral truth is ignored.
Throughout history, the same principle endures: right and truth exist before power, and freedom must answer to both. Wherever people stand up for justice, guided by reason, the spirit of natural law continues to shape our nation.