Life, Liberty and Property: What Does it Even Mean?

In both the 5^th and 14^th Amendments to the United States Constitution, it is stated (with minor wording differences between the two Amendments) that no state shall deprive any person of "life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." Although this particular phrase is easy to remember, its components are unusually difficult to define and apply in a real-world context. Over the years, the Court has faced major definitional problems in regard to the meanings of almost every word/concept mentioned in the clauses.

Although one might expect the vagueness of "life, liberty, or property" to pose the most difficult definitional challenge as the Court interpreted the due process clauses, one of the most crucial definitions had nothing to do with what the government shall not deprive any person of without due process of law, but with what the term "deprive" even means. The Court has always held that "deprive" means "to take away," which is the word's most basic definition, but it has also had to consider that "deprive" can also mean "to prevent from getting." Because the difference between these two definitions could make all the difference in the world for people who never had a chance (as opposed to people who had a chance but lost it), the Court's interpretation of the concept of "deprivation" held the possibility of drastically affecting the American political, social, and legal landscapes. Furthermore, the Court had to decide whether every loss was a deprivation, or if there was a spectrum of governmental taking (or possibly preventing from getting) that did not meet the definition of "deprivation." The Court's decisions on these definitions had massive implications for each other definitional issue within the due process clauses.