What was John Quincy Adams's theory on natural rights?
My understanding of natural rights is rooted in the very foundations of enlightened thought and the law of nations. These rights are not gifts from governments, but are endowed by the Creator, inherent in the human condition from time immemorial. They are the bedrock upon which all just governments must be founded, as articulated in our Declaration and enshrined implicitly within the Constitution. To deny these rights is to subvert the very purpose of civil society. My legal arguments, especially in defense of those unjustly enslaved, were predicated on the absolute universality of these natural rights, which transcend any human statute or custom that seeks to abridge them.
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