Inalienable Rights

The early part of the Declaration of Independence contains an interesting phrase: inalienable rights. The rights enumerated are of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is interesting to note that in Jefferson's estimation, these inalienable rights are not attributed to any government, but to "[our] Creator." Jefferson recognized that what we refer to as human rights are not given to us by man, but spring from a higher source. Liberty, such as it is, is God-given. The role of government is simply to protect, not provide, it.

The wording in the preamble to the Constitution follows a similar train of thought: "to secure the blessings of liberty." The framers of this document did not believe that the Constitution would create or impart freedom; rather, it would secure what already existed against encroachment both from within the government itself or from foreign powers.

This was the genius of the American system of government: the recognition both of the ultimate source of freedom, and the need to protect it against the very government they needed. That freedom is greater than government was the driving force behind the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution is the reason the system has endured.