Private Property and the Limits of American Constitutionalism: The Madisonian Framework and Its Legacy

The United States Constitution was designed to secure the rights of individuals and minorities from the tyranny of the majority-or was it? Jennifer Nedelsky's provocative study places this claim in an utterly new light, tracing its origins to the Framers' preoccupation with the protection of private property. She argues that this formative focus on property has shaped our institutions, our political system, and our very understanding of limited government.

Jennifer Nedelsky is associate professor of law and political science at the University of Toronto.