The courts should return to the pre-1922 Constitutional understanding

A good essay will begin with a thesis that clearly summarizes your analysis of the proposition. You may agree, disagree, or agree in part and disagree in part with the proposition. Use the materials that the question requires plus other material that we have studied this semester to support your thesis. You are limited to 900 words per essay.

3. Prior to 1922, the government could regulate land use with no duty to pay landowners if the regulations limited the value of land. Over the course of the 20th and early 21st centuries our society has grown more complex and interdependent, and we have come to understand that what an individual does on his own property has implications for the surrounding lands, for the ecology of the entire region and for the health of the world. In the 21st century we have come to understand the value of undeveloped land as an antidote for global warming and as a habitat for rare and endangered species.

Proposition: The courts should return to the pre-1922 Constitutional understanding, and allow legislatures to limit development of land without inquiring into whether a regulatory taking has occurred.

Analyze this proposition using the examples from the Humboldt County controversy and at least one of three court cases: Just, Lucas or Kelo. Also discuss the ideas of at least two of the following writers: John Stuart Mill, Henry George, David Hume, William Blackstone, Ronald Coase, Elinor Ostrom.