WHY NATURAL RIGHTS MATTER

HOW DOES VERMONT'S CONSTITUTION TREAT NATURAL RIGHTS?

Vermont’s Constitution places its Declaration of Rights at the very beginning of the document.

Article 1 recognizes that all persons are born equally free and independent, with natural, inherent, and unalienable rights. These include enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.

Vermont’s Constitution also makes clear that these rights are not merely symbolic. Chapter 2, Section 71 declares that the political rights and privileges of the people are part of the Constitution and should not be violated.

Natural rights are not decorative language in Vermont. They are part of the constitutional framework.

DON'T MANY LAWS CONFLICT WITH OUR NATURAL RIGHTS? WHY IS THAT ALLOWED TO HAPPEN?

Many Vermonters believe that modern laws and regulations increasingly conflict with natural rights, especially when they interfere with property, parental authority, medical choice, food freedom, religious liberty, free speech, or local self-government.

One reason is that government often treats rights as something to be balanced against broad policy goals, public programs, administrative rules, or collective interests. Over time, this can shift the focus away from protecting individual rights and toward managing society through regulation.

Another reason is that many laws are passed through ordinary political processes, not through a deep constitutional review of first principles. Legislators may ask whether a bill has enough votes or fits current policy goals, but may not always ask the more fundamental question: Does this law respect the natural rights government was created to protect?

That is why public attention matters. When citizens understand their rights, they are better equipped to recognize when government action has crossed a line and to demand that lawmakers return to constitutional principles.

Those principles must be exercised like an athlete prepares for their sport or a musician for a concert. As Vermont’s Constitution Article 18 attests, frequent recurrence to fundamental principles is necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty and keep government free.

HOW DID WE LOSE SIGHT OF NATURAL RIGHTS?

Natural rights were once central to American civic life. They were part of the language of the Declaration of Independence, early state constitutions, abolitionist arguments, and many of the debates that shaped the country.

Today, that language is much less common.

One reason is that civics education has weakened. Many people are taught the structure of government without being taught the deeper purpose of government: to secure the natural rights of the people.

Another reason is that modern politics often focuses on programs, parties, agencies, funding, and regulation. These debates matter, but the older, more fundamental question has been mostly forgotten: What are the proper limits of government power?

When natural rights are no longer taught, discussed, or defended, people can begin to see rights as permissions granted by government rather than freedoms government is obligated to protect.

The Natural Rights Project exists to help restore that understanding. Not as a partisan idea, but as a founding principle: our rights come first, and government exists to protect them.

WHY DOES PROPERTY MATTER?

Property is one of the natural rights specifically recognized in Vermont’s Constitution.

Property does not only mean land. It also includes the ability to use one’s home, labor, skills, tools, mind, hands, and pursue happiness without unreasonable interference.

When government controls the use, value, or purpose of private property, it can affect much more than land. It can affect a person’s independence, security, family, work, and future.

That is why property rights are central to the broader question of natural rights.

If government can control the use and value of your land, then every other form of property becomes vulnerable to the same treatment.

WHAT OATH DO VERMONT OFFICIALS SWEAR?

Vermont officials swear an oath or affirmation to uphold the Constitution.

That matters because Vermont’s Declaration of Rights is part of the Constitution itself. 

When elected officials take an oath to the Constitution, they are also taking an oath to respect the natural rights recognized within it.

This includes the rights to life, liberty, property, happiness, and safety.

Elected officials do not swear loyalty to political parties, agencies, lobbyists, special interests, or administrative goals. They swear to uphold the Constitution.