SCOTUS approves Trump travel ban

[Perd Hapley]

To the two previous posters:

Though I've not read Locke, I believe "life, liberty, and property" was a common theme in his writings, and modified by the 2nd Cont. Congress for inclusion in the Declaration. I don't think anyone's denying that the Constitution has something to say about property rights.

However, I think freakazoid was talking about the requirements, in many Anglo-American colonies, that voters own a certain amount of property. These persisted to varying degrees in the early U.S. Thomas G. West has suggested that, as the property requirement receded, it was replaced by restrictions based on sex and race.

[MechAg94]

I think if any of us lived as a common person in Europe at that time, the ability to own and use property would be very important to us.

When was voting declared a natural right?  Or did the discussion just get sidetracked?

[K Frame]

There is, and always has been, debate about whether Locke was a direct influence for Jefferson's statement in the Declaration.

I think it is likely that Locke's treatise was an influence, but the question is, was it a primary influence, or was it a secondary influence that came through Jefferson being heavily influenced by the thoughts and theories of George Mason and his writings, especially the Virginia Declaration of Rights?

Wikipedia has an interesting discussion on the subject...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life,_Liberty_and_the_pursuit_of_Happiness

[K Frame]

Property owning yes, skin color and sex didn't matter originally.

Yes, skin color and gender did matter very much on a variety of levels in the early days of the Republic.

As I said, if you were a white property owner in the early days of the Republic, you were in like Flynn because there were virtually no restrictions, nuances, hindrances, etc., on your various rights.

Here's an interesting but very basic look at how voting rights progressed over the years.

http://classroom.synonym.com/people-gained-right-vote-early-1800s-16200.html

[Perd Hapley]

I think if any of us lived as a common person in Europe at that time, the ability to own and use property would be very important to us.

Of course.

When was voting declared a natural right?

When the Democratic Party decided that it could no longer get enough (legally valid) votes from citizens. That's when.

[TommyGunn]

I believe you are correct.

The right to property is mentioned in the bill of rights though:

"The Constitution protects property rights mainly through the Fifth Amendment's Takings or Just Compensation Clause: ''nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.''"

https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-handbook-policymakers/2009/9/hb111-34.pdf

I've read that "property" was changed to "pursuit of happiness" to broaden the concept the phrase protected;  that is,  the right to property did not go away,  it became part of the "pursuit of happiness."

[RocketMan]

Wait, are you two saying that our Constitutional rights are in fact granted to us by our government?

Unfortunately, there are many that have passed through our public education system in the last 30 years that believe that very thing.