Louisiana Revised Statutes Tit. 25, § 1283. Context of public display

(1) Some documents stand out as pivotal in the religious history of America and Louisiana's legal system, among which are the Mayflower Compact, The Declaration of Independence as a legal foundation for the United States Constitution, the Ten Commandments as one of the foundations of our legal system, and the Northwest Ordinance, which was a primary document affirming faith and the first congressional act legally prohibiting slavery. It is hoped that their study and relation to each other and the history of our state and nation will foster an appreciation for the role that religion has played in the legal history of America and the state of Louisiana and prompt further public study.

(2) American law, constitutionalism, and political theory have deep roots in religion. American ideals about liberty, freedom, equality, legal responsibility and codes of law, to mention a few, have roots and underpinnings in religion and biblical literacy. The Ten Commandments, which are found in the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament of the Bible, was one of the earliest written expressions of law to be incorporated in American legal systems. The Ten Commandments, or the law of nature, also impacted the Declaration of Independence which refers to the “laws of nature and of Nature's God.”