Liberty of Contract: Rediscovering a Lost Constitutional Right.

Liberty of Contract: Rediscovering a Lost Constitutional Right

By David N. Mayer

Is economic liberty the same as personal liberty? In his new book, Liberty of Contract: Rediscovering a Lost Constitutional Right, David N. Mayer examines the history of the liberty of contract--the right of Americans to bargain over the terms of their own contracts--and shows how this right, our economic liberty, has been diminished by court decisions.

Mayer, a professor of law and history at Capital University, traces the foundations of the liberty of contract and illustrates its demise. The history Mayer presents begins at the onset of the 20th century with the Lochner decision.

In this decision, the Supreme Court ruled against a law that interfered with the freedom of people to bargain over the terms of their own contracts. Mayer discusses how he...