Freedom’s Anchor (eBook)

In Freedoms Anchor, famed legal commentator Judge Andrew P.Napolitanomakes the case for using natural law principles to restrain government. Going back to Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas, JudgeNapolitanoidentifies the origins of Natural Law Theory and explains its growth and development in English and American law. He argues compellingly that the idea that our rights come from our humanity and not from social consensus or government is enshrined in the Ninth Amendment, authored by none other than James Madison himself, the scrivener of the Constitution, and is binding on the courts today.Freedoms Anchor is essentially a history of law and power in the United States as seen through the lens of Natural Law Theory. This work traces the Supreme Courts explicit acceptance and explicit rejection of these principles. For the first time in one volume, JudgeNapolitanogives us the universe of all published works in English (and some in Latin and in Spanish) on Natural Law Theory. He has scoured the Supreme Courts writings and examined all that reflect favorably or unfavorably upon the principles of innate human freedom.After having published nine previous books on the U.S. constitutional history, this is JudgeNapolitanos magnum opus. It reflects a lifetime of thinking and understanding by one of Americas preeminent legal thinkers. Scholars, judges, and law students will love this book. And non-lawyers who read this book interested in the courts historical treatment of fundamental human freedoms and how we lost them will say to each other: Wow. I didnt know that! There is still hope.