Locke, Jefferson, and the Justices, Foundations and Failures of the USG

John Locke’s political thought sits at the heart of the American experiment, yet most readers encounter it only in passing references to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Locke, Jefferson, and the Justices uncovers how Locke’s ideas about natural rights, property, and limited government shaped the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and more than two centuries of Supreme Court decisions.

George M. Stephens traces Locke’s “life, liberty, and estates” into Jefferson’s “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” then follows those principles through the framing of the Constitution, the omission and later adoption of the Bill of Rights, and the early understanding of tightly restricted federal powers. The book shows how property rights and freedom of contract became central to American liberty, and how later courts weakened those protections in the Progressive and New Deal eras.

Stephens explains landmark shifts such as the rise and fall of substantive due process, the expansion of federal power under the General Welfare and Commerce Clauses, and the quiet “footnote” that helped usher in the modern regulatory and welfare state. He then examines late 20th century cases like United States v. Lopez, Dolan v. City of Tigard, and related decisions as signs of a partial return to the Founders’ constitutional design and to Locke’s insistence on secure rights in property.

Readers interested in American founding principles, constitutional law, or the intellectual background of the Contract with America will find this book especially useful. It will appeal to students of political philosophy, lawyers and judges who care about original meaning, policy analysts questioning the modern administrative state, and citizens who want to understand both how their rights were conceived and how they have been eroded—and may yet be restored.