Malcolm Rivera
The original Constitution of the United States, drafted in 1787, outlined a system of checks and balances that included an executive branch, a legislature, and a judiciary. However, it did not include a bill of rights, and it did not apply to all citizens. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, which followed the Civil War, formally ended slavery, guaranteed equal protection under the law, and gave African-American men the right to vote. The 14th Amendment, in particular, is known for protecting economic liberty, which encompasses the right to earn a living and acquire, use, and possess private property. While the original Constitution did not explicitly guarantee economic liberty, subsequent amendments and interpretations have expanded the understanding and protection of this concept.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Economic liberty | The right to acquire, use, and possess private property and the right to enter into private contracts of one's choosing |
| The right to earn an honest living | |
| The right to free labor | |
| The right to work in an honest calling and contribute to the support of oneself and one's fellow men | |
| The right to be secure in the enjoyment of the fruits of one's toil | |
| The right to be treated fairly by the government whenever the loss of liberty or property is at stake | |
| The right to not be subjected to foreign jurisdiction that is unacknowledged by US laws | |
| The right to free use of one's faculties and free choice of one's occupations | |
| The right to conduct foreign affairs | |
| The right to freedom of conscience, speech, and the press | |
| The right to trial by jury in criminal cases | |
| The right to not have large bodies of armed troops quartered among the people | |
| The right to protection from murder committed by those given assent by foreign jurisdiction | |
| The right to free trade with all parts of the world | |
| The right to not be subjected to mock trials |
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What You'll Learn
The right to earn a living
The Declaration of Independence, which proclaimed that "all men are created equal," also asserted that individuals possess certain "unalienable Rights," including "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." This declaration laid the foundation for the notion of economic liberty, which was later enshrined in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
The original Constitution of the United States, drafted in 1787, established a system of checks and balances, including a strong executive branch, a representative legislature, and a federal judiciary. However, it did not include a specific bill of rights outlining the freedoms and protections afforded to individuals. This absence was addressed with the addition of the Bill of Rights in 1791, which provided a more explicit guarantee of certain liberties.
The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, adopted after the Civil War, further strengthened the protection of economic liberty. The 14th Amendment, in particular, played a significant role in safeguarding economic liberty by requiring state governments to respect basic civil and economic liberties. This amendment ensured that individuals had the right to enter into contracts of their choosing and conduct their economic affairs without undue interference from the state.
Despite these constitutional protections, the interpretation and enforcement of economic liberty have evolved over time. The Lochner era, from 1890 to 1937, witnessed courts striking down laws that regulated wages and work hours, citing violations of the right to contract. However, critics argue that this interpretation of "due process" and "liberty" was novel and illegitimate.
In summary, the right to earn a living, or economic liberty, has been a fundamental aspect of American liberty since the nation's founding. It has been shaped by historical events, legal interpretations, and social movements, reflecting the dynamic nature of constitutional rights in the United States.
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The right to acquire property
The original Constitution of the United States, drafted in 1787, established a system of checks and balances with a strong executive branch, a representative legislature, and a federal judiciary. However, it did not include a specific bill of rights outlining individual liberties. This absence of a bill of rights, which would have specified the rights of individuals and the limitations of governmental power, was an obstacle to the Constitution's ratification by the states.
The 13th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution, along with the Privileges or Immunities Clause, played a crucial role in protecting economic liberty, including the right to acquire property. James Madison, one of the Founding Fathers, described this right as an individual's "free use of their faculties, and free choice of their occupations, which not only constitute their property in the general sense of the word; but are the means of acquiring property strictly so-called." In other words, Madison recognized that the ability to pursue one's chosen occupation and use one's talents freely was inherently linked to the right to acquire property.
Despite these protections, the interpretation and enforcement of economic liberties, including the right to acquire property, have been subject to legal challenges and evolving interpretations over time. Federal courts have engaged in means-ends reviews to assess the constitutionality of statutes related to economic liberty. Additionally, while the 14th Amendment originally protected economic liberty, current Supreme Court doctrines of substantive due process and equal protection of the laws provide substitute protections for this right.
In conclusion, the right to acquire property is a fundamental aspect of economic liberty that has been enshrined in the United States Constitution and shaped through legal interpretations and challenges. The original Constitution's lack of a bill of rights and subsequent amendments have played a significant role in defining and protecting this right, demonstrating the dynamic nature of constitutional law and its interpretation in the United States.
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The right to enter into contracts
The Constitution of the United States is a remarkable document that sets up a system of checks and balances, including a strong executive branch, a representative legislature, and a federal judiciary. However, the original draft of the Constitution did not include a specific declaration or bill of individual rights, and it did not apply to all citizens.
One of the economic liberties guaranteed in the original Constitution is the right to enter into contracts. This is protected by the Contract Clause, which is Article I, Section 10, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution. The Contract Clause imposes prohibitions on the states to protect individuals from state government interference and to prevent states from overreaching into the powers of the federal government.
The Contract Clause recognises the right of individuals to form contracts and prohibits states from enacting legislation that impairs existing contract rights. This includes laws that modify the terms of contracts, such as those that grant relief to debtors by changing the time of payment or the form of payment to something useless to the creditor. The Contract Clause also prohibits states from issuing their own money, which could be used to pay off debts.
The Framers of the Constitution added the Contract Clause in response to the widespread practice under the Articles of Confederation of states granting relief to debtors, particularly influential persons, which was seen as detrimental to the national economy and a risk to foreign investment. The Contract Clause, therefore, ensured the inviolability of sales and financing contracts, encouraging foreign investment by reducing the risk of loss to foreign merchants.
While the Contract Clause protects the right to enter into contracts, it does allow the government to create laws barring contracts that offend public policy, such as contracts for sex or child labour. Additionally, the Supreme Court has interpreted the Contract Clause to allow for temporary modifications to contracts in times of emergency, such as during the Great Depression when the Court upheld a law that temporarily restricted the ability of mortgage holders to foreclose.
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Protection from government intervention
The original US Constitution, drafted in 1787, did not include a bill of rights. However, it did contain provisions that protected economic liberty, which encompasses the right to earn an honest living. The 14th Amendment, which includes the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause, now explicitly protects economic liberty.
The Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment interprets the Bill of Rights as protecting the rights outlined in the First Amendment from interference by state governments. The First Amendment protects the right to freedom of religion, expression, speech, and the press, as well as the right to peaceably assemble and petition the government. While the original law of the 14th Amendment provides stronger protection for economic liberty, judges can still offer some protection by applying rational basis review.
The Privileges or Immunities Clause of the 14th Amendment also protects economic liberty, though this protection is now often channelled through the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses. This means that the right to earn a living is protected to a degree, but it is often given less attention than it deserves. The 13th and 14th Amendments, passed as part of the Reconstruction Amendments, protect economic liberty by guaranteeing the right to acquire, use, and possess private property and enter into private contracts.
Federal courts have the authority to intervene when a state threatens the fundamental rights of its citizens, and they can provide further protection for economic liberty through substantive due process and equal protection. While the original intent of the Constitution's framers was to protect certain rights from government abuse, the absence of a bill of rights in the original Constitution made it unclear who would be the final arbiter of how the Constitution should be applied. This issue was eventually resolved in 1803, and the Bill of Rights was passed in 1791.
The Bill of Rights established broad principles guaranteeing fundamental rights, but it did not include all people, excluding women and Native Americans, for example. While the Bill of Rights was a pivotal event in the history of liberty, it is still a work in progress, with groups still fighting for their rights to be protected.
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The right to equal protection under the law
The original Constitution of the United States, drafted in 1787, was a remarkable blueprint for self-government. However, it did not include a bill of rights, and it did not apply to everyone. The absence of a bill of rights turned out to be an obstacle to the Constitution's ratification by the states.
The 14th Amendment, which was ratified after the Civil War in 1868, introduced the Equal Protection Clause, which states that:
> "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment applies to state governments, and it means that a government must apply its laws fairly and cannot treat people differently without a valid reason. Individuals in similar situations should be treated alike under the law. The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to require equal protection from the federal government as well.
The Equal Protection Clause was intended to stop states from discriminating against Black Americans. However, its text is worded very broadly, and it has evolved since its original purpose. For example, the Court has considered whether racial segregation by the government violated the Constitution, and whether separating people into different facilities by race, but with purportedly equally suitable facilities, constituted discrimination.
The 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause is crucial to the protection of civil rights. While not all forms of legal distinction are unconstitutional, courts allow governments to differentiate between individuals if the discrimination meets constitutional standards. When an individual believes that either the federal or state government has violated their guaranteed equal rights, they can bring a lawsuit against that governmental body for relief.
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Frequently asked questions
Economic liberty is the right to acquire, use, and possess private property and the right to enter into private contracts of one's choosing.
The original Constitution did not include a specific declaration or bill of individual rights. It did not apply to everyone and only specified what the government could do, not what it could not do. However, the 14th Amendment, which was added later, protects economic liberty.
The 14th Amendment requires state governments to respect basic civil and economic liberties. It protects the right to earn an honest living and ensures that no American government can deprive any person of liberty without due process of law.
