Originally Posted by mulp

But legislation is not natural law. The Declaration of Independence is one of the records of the time, as is Blackstone's Commentary, that the common law of the times was defined by natural law that was superior to any proclamation by any king, or the laws passed by any legislature.

As a political document, the Declaration blames the conflict between natural law and the laws passed by the English Parliament on the King who didn't have the authority to violate natural law. Subsequent writings by the parties to the insurrection and founding of the various independent governments make it clear that many considered natural law to remain superior to any laws by man.

Including the US Constitution.