Remembering our precious liberties

This summer, Americans are remembering the men and women who founded our great republic. For good reason, we have been placing special focus on the writing and promulgating of the Declaration of Independence. It’s just right that we do so. The Declaration fittingly remains, as Jefferson called it, “an expression of the American mind.” Our principles may not have originated with the Declaration of Independence, but those principles were articulated in that document in a way that changed history.

While it holds a special place, the Declaration did not stand alone. Thus, this moment also offers an opportunity to commemorate accompanying documents and deeds by America’s truly “Greatest Generation.”

One such accompanying moment also deserves our attention. In June of 1789, the First Congress of the United States was meeting to enact the first and fundamental statutes of the newly reformed national government. On June 8, James Madison submitted the most consequential of those early legislative acts. He proposed a set of twelve amendments to the nation’s first Constitution. These amendments were meant to comprise a bill of rights similar to those existing in state constitutions and in prior English history. Congress would pass and the states would ratify ten of those amendments to become the Bill of Rights as we now know them (one of the two not passed would be ratified in 1992 as the 27th Amendment).

These first 10 amendments are the best-known part of our Constitution, formally known as the Bill of Rights. Their fame makes sense. The original seven articles of the Constitution focus on the structure of our system, especially regarding separation of powers, federalism, and the status of the Constitution within our broader system of laws. Such matters, though essential, can seem mundane or even distant to the average citizen.

The Bill of Rights, on the other hand, brims with the declaration of individual rights. These rights touch on regular and profound matters for human life. They also articulate and are based in a view of human nature and dignity that has influenced personal and public action ever since.

The First Amendment articulates rights famous and essential for human thought as well as deed. The right to freedom of speech entails more than a mere permission to disagree. Through it, the Constitution affirms that humans are fundamentally rational beings capable of communicating their thinking to each other. Without the ability to contemplate and to speak, peaceful self-government would be impossible. We would be left with the choice between anarchy and physical coercion in our political communities. Instead, we can discuss, debate, and then act in pursuit of the good. The freedom of the press can be seen as an extension of that view of humanity. We not only can speak but can write and publish our thoughts with the intent to teach and persuade each other toward just action.

Sticking with the First Amendment, we find two clauses that touch on religion. The Establishment Clause forbids Congress to make any law “respecting an establishment of religion.” The Free Exercise clause forbids Congress from “prohibiting the free exercise” of religion as well. The Establishment Clause does not separate religion from public life but merely maintains a clear distinction between the institutions of church and state. The Free Exercise Clause then recognizes the freedom of the conscience in relation to human government. Though not explicit concerning why, it in practice recognizes that God alone is Lord in that realm. Even religiously based actions, especially those pertaining to worship, receive substantial protection as part of free exercise of religion. Together, these clauses continue to allow robust religious arguments and language in our political processes while also guarding religious liberty in a broad manner. They recognize the important place religion holds in the lives of individuals and of political communities.

Yet the Bill of Rights contains much more than those precious protections of the First Amendment. The Second Amendment affirms natural rights to life, liberty, and property, providing an important means for keeping these rights from being infringed by others. The procedural protections of the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh seek to limit the government’s capacity to coerce and to punish, in order to keep state-sanctioned injustice from taking place. The Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishments implicitly affirms the state’s power to penalize wrongdoing, while holding that such penalties must fit the crime. The Ninth Amendment asserts that government is not the ultimate source of rights but is to protect and respect them. The Tenth Amendment reinforces federalism and the capacity of the people to limit the political power of state and national governments.

The Declaration of Independence continues to be our most famous national document. However, let us also celebrate the constellation of persons and documents that put its principles into workable practice. High among those other documents we celebrate is the Bill of Rights. In our contentious times, we should seek to remember and respect its affirmations and to perpetuate liberty for generations yet to come.