Amherst to take next steps in Boulevard Mall eminent domain process after JCPenney drops challenges

In this lesson, students will learn how David Lucas acted with integrity when a new law deprived him of the right to use his property. Lucas boldly challenged what he believed to be an unconstitutional taking of his property.

The Founders were extremely concerned with protecting private property as a cornerstone of a free society. Property is not only physical possessions but also ideas, works, and even what someone has been promised in wages. This lesson explores the idea of property, its origins and the reasons it is protected.

The Founders believed that property is among the natural rights governments exist to protect. One of the ways the Founders protected property rights was in the Fifth Amendment. This amendment restricts the government's ability to take property and ensures that when it does take property, it must pay for it. This lesson explores the Fifth Amendment and its applications.

Under what circumstances can the government take your property? In 2005, the Supreme Court took on this question in the case of Kelo v. New London. The court argued about whether applying the 5th Amendment to the states using the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment was constitutional or unconstitutional. This process is referred to as incorporation. Our latest Homework Help video reviews the details of the case and encourages students to analyze the decision to form their own opinions.