Includes bibliographical references (pages 199-203) and index.
Introduction -- The spirit of American rights -- John Locke : founder of the founders -- Locke on education and religious tolerance -- Jefferson : Locke's disciple -- Jefferson, Locke, and the Declaration of Independence -- Locke in the constitution -- Adoption and ratification -- Our Bill of Rights -- Jefferson and Hamilton -- Jefferson's minimalist government -- The era of substantive due process -- The progressives -- From Lochner to Mrs. Dolan : the 20th century -- How we lost rights, in a footnote -- Locke make.
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This book is about American politics and law; it is also about the roots of the Contract with America. A logical place to find the intent of the Founders is in Locke, which Stephens highlights. The most attractive feature of George Stephens's new book is his effort to root present-day controversies about property rights, freedom and the role of government in the great literature of liberty that is America's political heritage. The struggle to liberate our markets and our minds is an old -- even an ancient -- one. Stephens demonstrates that, to prevail in this critical struggle, we must replant the seeds of liberty that John Locke and others found centuries ago, and nurture their growth into towering, protective trees of constitutional order.