1. Faction can be seen as similar to class. When he speaks of “the majority faction” he is talking about the working class and others who were marginalized for the purposes of the elites. The majority faction was seen as a threat to the elites specifically their wealth. Therefore, they devised ways to keep power in the hands of the few, the ownership class.

2. “faculties” as defined in in Wiktionary as a noun: “(Often in the plural): An ability, power, or skill.”; An authority, power, or privilege conferred by a higher authority.” This understanding of the word “faculties” would put the person who has wealth as having an innate ability and they could say it was God given. They themselves are creating wealth because of their smarts, genius, discipline, etc. And it is the same for the poor or those who lack wealth. They are not posing the necessary mind and spirit and inner qualities that would create land owning person. And those who do not have the innate ability to own property should not be given the trust to run the nation, rather they should be controlled.

3. I do not agree with the idea that faculties is the reason for people having wealth or owning property. For me they are correct in a small sense. There are characteristics that make a person more likely to be successful at owning property. Yet I take into account that access had a large part to do with who was allowed to achieve wealth and who never had a chance. Opportunity was not available to the many but to the very few. Though today there is more opportunity for individuals of various backgrounds to build wealth. A person in the middle class who makes $80,000 could build wealth through investing in the stock market. By consistently investing in the stock market over decades a person can build wealth that they could live off.

4. The first mission of the government according to the readings is to protect those with the ability or faculties to own land. This is done through a system of government that controls the “fraction” that which are propertyless because they do not have the ability. Really, it is about the elite controlling the “majority faction” for the protection of the elite’s wealth.

5. I am surprised that this line of thinking existed because I was never taught this before. Yet I am not surprised because I know that there was much hypocrisy at the Constitutional Convention. Such lofty ideas of liberty hit the brick wall reality of slavery and a land-owning status class that did not want to give up their status.