We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. (Preamble to the Constitution)
September 17th is designated as Constitution Day to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787. According to the National Archives, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights are collectively known as the Charters of Freedom. These three documents have secured the rights of the American people for more than two and a quarter centuries. Furthermore, these documents are instrumental to the founding philosophy of the United States.
In the last chapter of his book Give Me Liberty: Studies in Constitutionalism and Philosophy, Ellis Sandoz states Liberty is, “a gift of the Almighty to human beings in their individual existences as unique personalities, each one created in the image and likeness of God and, thus, imago Dei.” Sandoz continues, “The whole of our civilization, back to the Exodus three-and-a-half millennia ago of the Hebrew people, long held captive in Egypt, and memorialized in the Passover, is built around this understanding.”
In the inaugural address of President John F. Kennedy in 1961, he reminded his fellow Americans that, “the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe–the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.” Constitution Day is an important reminder that the founding philosophy of the United States, as articulated in the Charters of Freedom, is grounded in We the People as imago Dei with certain unalienable rights from the hand of God.
~ Boethius ~
You are encouraged to find additional resources on Natural Law and Political Philosophy at pf3ministries.org.