This thesis deals with the role of property in the formation of the American Constitution and government. Charles Beard's views on property are compared with writings from the eighteenth century. Beard's writings on property and his critics are examined in the first two chapters. Then, the thesis's two historical contexts are evaluated. Concentrating on the Enclosure Acts, the fourth chapter looks at the importance of land to the former Englishmen. The eighteenth century view of property is the focus of the fifth section. The last chapter contrasts the two different views of property. Beard believed that the Constitution was a conservative document that protected the property of the few over the many. The Founding Fathers actually included liberal protections for property in the eighteenth century.