Organic Laws

In 1878, Congress enacted a revised version of the United States Code – our nation’s official compilation of federal law – that included a new first section entitled, “The Organic Laws of the United States.”

“Organic Laws” mean “foundational laws” and Congress identified the Declaration of Independence and Constitution as being among our nation’s foundational laws.

Additionally, the Supreme Court of the United States has declared that “… it is always safe to read the letter of the Constitution in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence.”

See Gulf, C. & S. F. Ry. Co. v. Ellis, 165 U.S. 150, 159-60 (1897)