THE DECLARATION, CONSTITUTION & BILL OF RIGHTS
Where do they get their authority?
Many Americans view these as three separate documents, with different objectives and goals.
In a sense, this is correct, but in another sense, these are all features of the foundational documentation of one governing philosophy.
I will first address the US Constitution. It is the foundational standard for the governing of our nation. It was established in the year 1789 by delegates to a convention in Philadelphia that was intended to modify the Articles of Confederation for better representation of the needs of the new union of the American states.
Once the convention began, it quickly became apparent that the Articles of Confederation were not capable of being sufficiently modified.
It was determined that the delegates should begin anew.
The result of which became known as “The Constitutional Convention” is the US Constitution.
These delegates recognized that there are three main objectives of government: the making of laws, the enforcement of those laws, and the adjudication of violations of laws.
This formed the basis of the new constitution and made up its first three articles.
They knew from experience and history that if the responsibilities and authority for these three objectives fell to one entity, tyranny was inevitable.
The concept of “separation of powers” was instituted by assigning these powers to separate branches of the government and documenting their structure in separate articles.
Our Constitution consists of only seven articles. The remaining four deal with policies of national and international significance, but the first three articles set the standards and objectives for national self-governance.
Before the structure of a national government could be established, the motives of the nation must be clearly determined.
This is where the Declaration of Independence had come in. It had been established thirteen years earlier in the same building, with some of the same delegates serving in both conferences.
This document published their protests against the imperial government of Britain over these thirteen “states.”
With the concept of what constituted bad government documented, they set their attention toward creating guards against similar problems in the new government and establishing processes that inspired righteous government with fidelity to the “laws of nature and nature’s God.”
With the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution established, where does the “Bill of Rights” come in? What is the Bill of Rights?
Once the US Constitution was debated and written, it had to be ratified by the states. Several states were concerned that none of their personal rights were effectively preserved in the documentation.
They agreed to ratify only by concession if it was amended to protect these rights in the first session of the new Congress.
This first congressional session produced several suggestions for amendments to the Constitution, and ten were ratified, making them the first ten Amendments, and dubbed “The Bill of Rights.”
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution/how-did-it-happen
Amendments are the product of Article V and are the only constitutional way to amend, or change provisions of the Constitution.
There are 27 amendments to the Constitution after 236 years.
These amendments, once ratified, become features of the US Constitution. They are not a separate document; they are part of our governing document.
In summary, our nation’s foundational documents are The Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution, a part of which is the Bill of Rights.
The authority of these documents is given in the Declaration.
“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…”
The rights of men are given by God and preserved by the government according to the consent of the governed (the citizens of our nation).
God bless you, Dave