The last clause in the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads, “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” This is the provision used to defend the use of eminent domain laws, in which the government seizes private property without the consent of the owner, in order to serve some public purpose. Railroads, interstate highways, and other projects that require large swaths of land are frequently cited as justifications for the law, as it is unlikely that they could have completed—at least not without a significantly higher cost—if private land owners could simply refuse to sell to the government, regardless of the offered price.
