As Americans, we are inherently tied to the vision of our Founding Fathers and the principles upon which our government was formed. But did you know that the unalienable rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” were originally “life, liberty, and the pursuit of property?”

Buying land is a tradition that dates back hundreds of years. As real estate investors, we can learn valuable lessons from the ideals and vision of the Founding Fathers of the United States. We thought it might be interesting to look back on the values, ideals, and unalienable rights that America was built upon.

The Birth of a Nation

Our Founding Fathers were striving to create a united nation where everyone is equal, where property and possessions cannot measure a human’s worth, and where government can support humans rather than the things they own.

These brilliant, visionary men recognized that the things we own are not synonymous with our happiness. And a government should not and cannot tax the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

What is the Pursuit of Happiness?

Historians have struggled to define the pursuit of happiness as an unalienable right. John Locke, a prominent philosopher in the eighteenth century, wrote Two Treatises of Government. In The Second Treatise, Locke lists the natural rights of “life, liberty, and estate,” with “estate” meaning “property.”

Locke’s writings were very popular among many of the Founding Fathers, especially Thomas Jefferson. It is Jefferson who is attributed to omitting “property” and replacing it with the “pursuit of happiness.” While he never explained this choice, it’s clear that he mirrored Locke’s unalienable rights.

Why the Pursuit of Happiness?

One common explanation is that Jefferson may have been uncomfortable enough with the idea of slavery and didn’t want to perpetuate property ownership in slaves by including an unalienable right to property.

However, this explanation still doesn’t explain why Jefferson decided on the “pursuit of happiness.”

Historians have taken two main approaches to explaining the reasons behind Jefferson’s choice of the rhetoric of “pursuit of happiness.”

Approach 1: There is Meaning Behind The Pursuit of Happiness

The first argues that the “pursuit of happiness” has important meaning, including the right to property, or the happiness found with the ownership of materials and property, family life or the Enlightenment idea of public virtue.

Approach 2: There is No Substantial Meaning Behind The Pursuit of Happiness

The second, and most common approach is that the replacement of “property” with the “pursuit of happiness” has no substantial meaning, at least not enough to form a discernible conclusion.

Historian Carl Becker describes the use of the “pursuit of happiness” as a “glittering generality.” It sounds nice and appealing, but the phrase is too general or too individualized to have any practical, substantial meaning. His thought process suggests that Jefferson inserted the “pursuit of happiness” as simply an “instrument of rhetoric.”

Becker says, “It adds rhythm and beauty to Jefferson’s listing of unalienable rights, and if the pursuit of happiness does anything more in the Declaration, it is only to add a sense of undefined idealism…”

The Right to Property: A Fundamental, Natural Right

The writings of Enlightenment-era philosophers John Locke and Adam Smith greatly influenced the Founding Fathers. These two philosophers believed the right to property was a fundamental, natural right. Because of this, the founders of the United States of America knew that the government should exist to protect private property.

John Adams wrote, “The moment the idea is admitted into society, that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.”

He goes on to write, “If ‘Thou shalt not covet,’ and ‘Thou shalt not steal,’ were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society before it can be civilized or made free.”

In 1792, the Father of the Constitution, James Madison wrote, “Government is instituted to protect property of every sort; as well that which lies in the various rights of individuals, as that which the term particularly expresses. This being the end of government, that alone is a just government, which impartially secures to every man, whatever is his own.”

What Our Forefathers Can Teach Us About the Value of Real Estate

Historian Edmund S. Morgan stated, “Ownership of property gave not only economic independence but also political independence to the average American.”

“Land is the most permanent estate and the most likely to increase in value,” wrote George Washington.

Glenn A. Phelps, a George Washington scholar, said regarding land, “It was not subject to the changing fortunes of paper money inflation, royal mercantile policies, the loss of political favor, or the decline of one’s skills through age or poor health.”

The Takeaway

Our forefathers understood the outcome of tomorrow is a direct result of the actions taken today. Ratified on July 4, 1776, The Declaration of Independence offers the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (or property) to all Americans.