1. Parenti and Beard both argue that the Constitution was written by the wealthy elite, for the wealthy elite. The framers were merchants, bondholders, creditors, and slaveowners. Anybody with substantial economic power. For example, Beard reports that many of the delegates held public government bonds that would gain value under a strong central government. Parenti similarly notes that the Constitution was crafted by a small group of men who represented property-owning interests. Those who were excluded were the working class, small farmers, laborers, women, and those who were enslaved. They had no vote, no representation, and no direct role in shaping their new government, even though their labor sustained society.
  2. Then, as now, a small wealthy elite controlled the most resources and political power, while the majority: workers, farmers then; wage laborers now, were largely excluded from decision-making. Wealth inequality was and is rampant in both eras. However, in the 18th century, enslaved people and indentured servants made up a major part of the laboring class, and women were also explicitly denied political participation. Today, economic inequality still persists; the “owning class” of corporations, billionaires, and financial elites has replaced the old planter, bondholder, and merchant elite. So, structurally, the pattern is similar, but the details of who is excluded have changed.
  3. The framers feared democracy because they represented the minority propertied classes, whose wealth and privileges could be threatened if the majority had direct political power. Democracy meant that the many poor could outvote the few rich, so the framers built checks and balances, property qualifications, and indirect elections, such as the Electoral College and Senate appointments to limit direct popular influence. it was less about the abstract fear of “mob rule” and more about the concrete fear of losing power.

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