The American Constitution drew on diverse intellectual traditions.1 Among the influences constitutional scholars and political theorists have identified and studied are English common law and British constitutionalism, Enlightenment liberalism in manifold forms, and various experiments in and expressions of republicanism.
Another important, yet often overlooked, influence is a biblical tradition, both Hebraic and Christian. The Bible’s stamp on the American constitutional tradition, from which emerged the national charter crafted in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787, is not surprising, given the expansive influence of Christianity and its sacred text on the culture.
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