The Declaration of Independence
http://www.usconstitution.net/gifs/docs/declar.jpg
The Articles of Confederation
http://www.usconstitution.net/gifs/docs/articles1.jpg
The Northwest Ordinance
http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc_large_image.php?flash=true&doc=8
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Northwest-territory-usa-1787.png
The Constitution for the United States
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Constitution_Pg1of4_AC.jpg
The organic laws of the United States of America are included in the U.S. Code. These documents include the United States Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Northwest Ordinance, and the U.S. Constitution. These documents comprise the very first part of the United States Code, wherein lies the collected statutes of the United States of America.
Both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution are looked upon, by most citizens of the United States, as the "legal bible" of the United States. Lincoln maintained that the Declaration was "the first of the laws of the United States and...the controlling legal authority as to the meaning of the principles of the Constitution." (Jaffa, CRB, [Winter 2005/06, p.38]).
Echoing a similar sentiment, perhaps referencing St. Paul's wisdom that "the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life," Cristopher Levenick states that "the letter of the Constitution is incomplete without being animated by the spirit of the Declaration." (Levenik, CRB, [Winter 2005/06, p. 40]).
