Dr. Martin Hash Podcast

The 5^th and 14^th Amendments of The Constitution promise to defend life, liberty & property, but what exactly that means is the source of much debate. Philosopher John Locke, the 17^th century originator of the terms, had rather parochial definitions; he thought of life in its prosaic sense, of simply one's organic life; but America's founders took the definition of “life” beyond face value, to mean no caste system, no indentured servitude or Debtors prisons, so people could live their own lives. “Property” means Real Estate in law; peons in the 17^th Century couldn’t own property, but Locke intended the term to include all things people can possess. Locke uses “liberty” as a synonym for freedom but the American definition is vastly expanded and means personal autonomy; people making decisions for themselves, and reaping the rewards or suffering the consequences of their own actions; bounded only by the liberty of others. The Preamble of The Constitution supports this expanded definition by stating, “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.” At least these are the definitions recognized in American jurisprudence, which is all that matters, really.

There are a lot of people who confuse the constitutional guarantees of life, liberty & property with a similar phrase found in the Declaration of Independence guaranteeing life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness: America does not promise happiness; no nation could; happiness is subjective and the responsibility of the individual, not The State; but The Declaration is not legal canon, and understanding what “pursuit of happiness” means would require reading Benjamin Franklin’s mind, the person who edited it into the document.