I: Acquiring and Possessing Property

That all Men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent natural Rights,…; among which are the Enjoyment of Life and Liberty, with the Means of acquiring and possessing Property, and pursuing and obtaining Happiness and Safety.

Virginia Declaration of Rights – 1776

Every man has a property in his own person. This nobody has any right to but himself. The labor of his body and the work of his hands are properly his.

John Locke, 1690

Indispensable for personal freedom is the liberty for each person to choose how to allocate and invest their time, labor and money, and to own the gains made by these investments.

George Mason codified the elements of freedom in the Virginia Declaration of Rights, “certain inherent rights, namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.”