While in the midst of a wholesale reevaluation of the right to private property, it is timely to reexamine the history of US property rights. What exactly caused America's unparallelled level of prosperity and freedom? Certainly our economic success then created unparallelled global influence and military might. But what factors allowed America's stunning growth in economic power in such a short period of time? This economic success was driven by a firm Rule of Law regime which supported the Constitution's unique defense of private property.
