Natural Rights

Natural rights are rights that belong to people by virtue of being human, rather than rights granted by any government or law. The American founding states the idea in the Declaration of Independence: people “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” and that governments are instituted to secure those rights. The National Archives describes these as rights that “do not come from presidents, kings, or charters.”

Example: The Declaration of Independence’s second paragraph — the “self-evident” truths about unalienable rights — is the classic statement of the doctrine; it grounds the Declaration’s argument that when a government fails to secure those rights, the people may alter or abolish it.

Common misconception: Natural rights are not the same as constitutional rights. The Declaration is not itself enforceable law; the legally enforceable rights of Americans are those in the Constitution, statutes and treaties, though the natural-rights idea shaped the Bill of Rights and later amendments.

Sources: Declaration of Independence: A Transcription | National Archives"; Charters of Freedom | National Archives Museum"