The United States Constitution and Bill of Rights were heavily influenced by classical republicanism and natural law philosophy. The Founding Fathers made much reference to classical republicanism in drafting the United States Constitution. The country we are today is largely due to the two ideas that are classical republicanism and the philosophy of natural rights. The Bill of Rights and the Philosophy of Natural Rights contain inalienable rights conferred on all human beings respectively. The Bill of Rights provides natural rights called amendments. These rights are inalienable for anyone, be it a police officer or any other government official. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Two Documents That Shape the American Constitution Natural rights philosophy is composed of legal rights and natural rights. The Bill of Rights simply combines these two ideas into one and labels them as amendments granted to every citizen as his birthright. Classical republicanism influenced the Founding Fathers just as natural rights philosophy did. In drafting the Constitution, the Founding Fathers looked to classical republicanism for ideas such as higher law. The Higher Law is the idea that regardless of your status, you are bound to these certain laws without deviation. The founding fathers also knew that the separation of church and state was a necessity. The Founding Fathers made an amendment denying the national and state governments from enacting a national religion because it would contradict the First Amendment “Freedom to Practice Religion.” The great influence of natural rights philosophy and the ideas of classical republicanism helped the founding fathers decide that a national religion would only be contrary to the idea of ​​natural rights. Classical republicanism also placed importance on the health of the community rather than the health of the individual. The Founding Fathers compared this to the philosophy of natural rights and declared that the freedom to exercise free speech, along with the freedom to practice any religion of one's choice, was a natural right that could not be denied to the people. This does not mean that any government structure is allowed to sponsor any religion. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay All of these examples had a great influence on our founding fathers as they did the United States Constitution. Every natural-born citizen of the United States has the same rights as the President of the United States. Our founding fathers knew how to not only take inspiration from the ideas of classical republicanism, but also refine them. This has given us the freedom to practice any religion of our choosing and so much more, such as creating a system of checks and balances that does a great job of not allowing one branch of government to have too much power. The country we know today is due in part to the reference of two important ideas and the refinement of these ideas to create a better country.