This Article reinterprets and expands upon the basic Rehnquist approach by means of standard contract law analysis. While some due process contexts, such as those involving claims of prisoners, welfare recipients, or, arguably, public school students, are, at best, no more easily resolved through a contract law analysis, other, at least equally important and frequently litigated cases, including those involving the procedural rights of college students and government employees, are most easily and convincingly resolved along lines suggested by the private law of contracts and con- tract defenses.