http://72.14.177.54/wiki42/?title=Declarationism&action=history Revision history for this page on the wiki en MediaWiki 1.15.1 Mon, 15 Jun 2026 05:33:49 GMT http://72.14.177.54/wiki42/?title=Declarationism&diff=2152&oldid=prev <p>Created page with &#39;:&#39;&#39;This article was copied from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declarationism Wikipedia] just to make sure the information won&#39;t be lost in case the article is deleted.&#39;&#39; &#39;&#39;&#39;Decl…&#39;</p> <p><b>New page</b></p><div>:''This article was copied from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declarationism Wikipedia] just to make sure the information won't be lost in case the article is deleted.''<br /> <br /> '''Declarationism''' is a legal philosophy that incorporates the [[United States Declaration of Independence]] into the body of case law on level with the [[United States Constitution]]. It holds that the Declaration is a [[natural law]] document and so that natural law has a place within American jurisprudence. Its main proponents include [[Harry V. Jaffa]] and other members of the [[Claremont Institute]]. Proponents claim that Supreme Court Justice [[Clarence Thomas]] is a follower of this school of thought; however, Thomas is more widely considered a member of the [[strict constructionism|strict constructionist]] school.<br /> <br /> Proponents claim that the concept is derived from the philosophical structure contained in the Declaration of Independence and assertion that it was the Declaration that created the nation, the Constitution creating only the federal government. According to this view, the authority to create the Constitution derives from the prior act of nation-creation accomplished by the Declaration. The Declaration declares that the people have a right to alter or abolish any government once it becomes destructive of their natural rights. The turn away from the [[Articles of Confederation]] with the ratification of the Constitution was an action of this sort and so the Constitution's authority exists within the legal framework established by the Declaration. The Constitution cannot, then, be interpreted as though it were the foundation of constitutional law, in the absence of principles derived from the Declaration.<br /> <br /> Though philosophically conservative, Declarationists such as Jaffa have been outspoken critics of [[originalism|originalist construction]] jurists including [[Robert Bork]], [[Antonin Scalia]], and [[William Rehnquist]], likening them to [[legal positivism|legal positivists]]. Bork and legal scholar [[Lino Graglia]] have, in turn, critiqued the Declarationist position, retorting that it is single-mindedly obsessive over the [[Dred Scott v. Sandford|Dred Scott]] decision and resembles a [[theology]] rather than a legal doctrine.<br /> <br /> [[Category:United States Declaration of Independence]]<br /> [[Category:Theories of law]]</div> Tue, 18 Jan 2011 04:35:35 GMT Nerd42 http://72.14.177.54/wiki42/Talk:Declarationism