How did Justice Rufus Peckham interpret freedom of contract in Lochner v. New York?

In Lochner v. New York (1905), Justice Rufus Peckham interpreted freedom of contract as a fundamental aspect of the liberty protected by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.1

Peckham argued that this right included the liberty of individuals to make their own economic arrangements with their employees without state interference. Consequently, he held that any government attempt to curtail this contractual freedom was unconstitutional unless it could be justified as a valid exercise of the state's police power to protect public health or the safety of workers.21

In this specific case, Peckham concluded that baking was not a dangerous or unhealthful trade that required special regulation. He asserted that the quality of bread did not depend on the number of hours a baker worked, and therefore, the New York Bakeshop Act’s limitation on working hours was an invalid infringement on the right of employers and employees to freely contract their labor.1