Strongly influenced in its formulation by John Locke's Second Treatise on Government and Natural Rights theory, some major assumptions of the constition are as follows. Individuals have natural rights to liberty and their own free pursuit of happiness. Government is a contract among the governed. Justice is best preserved when government is only through the consent of the governed. Laws must depend on the consent of the government.
Representative government is essential to justice.
The individual must be protected against the potential power of government. The Constitution has not been without criticism. The emphasis on natural rights and property rights allows extremes in income inequality that may yield distributive injustices. The emphasis on property rights was used to sustain injustices such as early twentieth century Supreme Court rulings against laws controlling child labor. We were slow to make obvious gains in justice such as allowing people of color and women the right to vote or ending segregation.