Graduation Year
2019
Date of Submission
4-2019
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE)
Reader 1
George Thomas
Abstract
This thesis examines the idea of economic rights and their place in American political history. The American constitutional understanding of rights has historically not included positive economic rights and has focused on negative political liberties. Chapter One is a discussion of what economic rights are in a broad sense. Then in Chapter Two I focus on Roosevelt. In his 1944 State of the Union Address, he proposed a “Second Bill of Rights” for America that was a list of economic rights. I use that speech and some of FDR’s other writings to understand economic rights as they were seen at their height in the American context. Chapter Three is a look at various methods of implementing economic rights, and it includes some comparative elements that demonstrate how economic rights have been put into force internationally. I conclude with a brief proposal for a modern economic bill of rights and a reflection on their enduring importance.
Recommended Citation
Harris, Charles, "FDR and Economic Rights in the American Tradition" (2019). CMC Senior Theses. 2190.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/2190
