1. Based on the arguments presented in Readings 6.1 and 6.2, which social class wrote the Constitution, and which class was excluded and not allowed to participate in this process? In your comment, make sure you clearly specify the difference between the two classes by giving examples from the readings.

The land-owning white males who had very little to no debt -that eras Capitalist class- wrote the Constitution.

The people who were excluded from this process were the working-class people of that era; white men who owned no land or were in large debt, women, people of African descent, Native Americans, and indentured servants.

2. Would say that the social class structure of early United States society, was the same as ours today, or different? Explain.

It would appear that the social class structure of early United States was very similar to the one we have today.

In both eras a very small number of people hold the vast majority of wealth and power.

3. Why were the people who wrote the Constitution so afraid of democracy? Hint: think about how to answer this question by discussing it in terms of social classes.

The writers of the constitution, who were a part of the capitalist class, were afraid of direct democracy because they feared the uprising of the working class. They knew that the working class made up the majority of the population and would vote in their own favor, which was against the capitalist class.

1. As the author said, the wealthy white bourgeoisie has the right to vote to make the constitution. Anyone else, including the petty bourgeoisie, is deprived of the right to vote, who he called the disenfranchised. “In twelve of the thirteen states (Pennsylvania excepted), only property-owning White males could vote, probably not more than 10 percent of the total adult population. Excluded were all Native Americans (“Indians”), persons of African descent, women, indentured servants, and White males lacking sufficient property. Property qualifications for holding office were so steep as to exclude even most of the White males who could vote.”
2. The class structure of early American society is much the same as it is today. Class mobility is still very low today. The sons of parliamentarians are more likely to become parliamentarians because they can get better education and more contacts. People say that education changes destiny. But a student who graduated from Eton College and a student in a community middle school often have very different futures. What’s more, there are still many Americans today who cannot receive higher education because they cannot afford tuition.
3. The most fundamental thing about freedom in the United States is the freedom of capital, which is also the freedom pursued by the founding fathers of the United States, as can be seen from the composition of representatives at the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention that year. The founding fathers of the United States pursued a republic, not democracy, and even flogging democracy is a crime to destroy freedom, because they fear that the tyranny of the majority will infringe upon their private property.

1. The social class who wrote the constitution was the “Owners Class”, who were the big property owners, merchants, and bankers, in fact, they decided to create a constitution based on the protection of the wealthy, because, to achieve the vision they had of what a great nation could be, was only achievable by people with their same characteristics and status.  The other class, who was the majority class, or as Charles Beard called them, the “Disenfranchised”, this were the poor whites, Native Americans, Women, Servants and Slaves, who under the constitution were not accountable, they could not vote, or give any opinions, because to be able to speak out or participate in the political environment of the time you needed certain amount of wealth and benefits.

2. The social class structure that we have nowadays is the same to the one we had in the beginning of the nation, slavery doesn’t exist, persons of color, women and poor people can vote, but mass incarceration still has a big part of Americans disenfranchised, and the government is still pretty much influenced by the ones who own wealth.

3. The people that wrote the Constitution had different interests than the poorer classes, they needed them to stay poor to be able to achieve their goals. If they created a democratic system, the majority class (the unwealthy) would had been a threat to the owner class. Alexander Hamilton defined this class as “turbulent and changing” who were “seldom to judge or determine right”, and this was the imprudence that often came with democracy.

Based on the arguments presented in Readings 6.1 and 6.2, which social class wrote the Constitution, and which class was excluded and not allowed to participate in this process? In your comment, make sure you clearly specify the difference between the two classes by giving examples from the readings.

Based on the readings, it is pretty clear that the social class that wrote the constitution was “owning class” On the other hand, Beard  describes “ four groups whose economic status had a definite legal expression: the slaves, the indented servants, the mass of men who could not qualify for voting under the property tests imposed by the state constitutions and laws, and women, disenfranchised and subjected to the discriminations if the common law .These groups were, not represented in the Convention which drafted the constitution…” (Beard, 1). In other words, the majority of Americans were not included in the writing of the constitution. Moreover, as Parenti claims the men who wrote the constitution looked after creating a strong central government. They agreed that government was institute for the defense of the rich against the poor (Parenti, 5). Thus, these other people were not included in the writing of the Constitution because their interests were not the same as the one the owning class had. Their main difference between the people who wrote the constitution and the ones excluded were their financial interests. Indeed, as Parenti reports “ persons of birth and fortune should control the affairs of the nation and check the leveling impulses of the propertyless multitude who composed the majority faction” (Parenti, 7). In conclusion, it is proved that the so-called “founding fathers” only had the intention of protecting their privileges and keeping the government to serve themselves.

Would say that the social class structure of early United States society, was the same as ours today, or different? Explain.

After the lectures about social class that we had, I can say that the social class structure of the early United States is the same as the one we have today. To Illustrate, it was claimed in prior readings that most of America’s total wealth is in the hands of the top 1%. Similar to what happened in Early America where Parenti claims: “ By 1700, three-fourths of the acreage of New York belonged to fewer than a dozen persons” (Parenti, 5). Moreover, the government in Early America was created to safeguard the propertied interests of the owning class; and it continues to work that way. In fact, it is well-known that the richest people in the United States are among the least taxed. On the other hand, the people with the lowest wages continue to be heavily taxed. That is just to prove how the government of the United States continues to follow the interests of the owning class. As well as to prove that the majority of wealth in America remains on a very small group of people. 

Why were the people who wrote the Constitution so afraid of democracy? Hint: think about how to answer this question by discussing it in terms of social classes.

According to Parenti: “The framers of the Constitution could agree with Madison when he wrote (also in Federalist No. 10) that “the most common and durable source of faction has been the various and unequal distribution of property [that is, wealth]. Those who hold and those who are without property have ever formed distinct interests in society” and “the first object of government” is “the protection of different and unequal faculties of acquiring property” (Parenti, 7). Therefore, the government had been created to maintain this unequal distribution of wealth. Under this context democracy would be a threat and they thought of it as “the worst of all political evils”. This is not surprising, since democracy in theory would be the opposite of inequality which is what the “founding fathers” intended to perpetuate for their own benefit.

1.Based on the arguments presented in Readings 6.1 and 6.2, which social class wrote the Constitution, and which class was excluded and not allowed to participate in this process? In your comment, make sure you clearly specify the difference between the two classes by giving examples from the readings.

Based on the reading 6.1 and 6.2 the owning class was the main beneficiary of the Constitution. These are the white males who are wealthy enough to be considered real property holders. To be more specific, small farmers, manorial lords, and slaveholders. People that are undesirable to be involved in politics are called “disenfranchised.” These people include working-class white male who doesn’t own properties, women, slaves, and indentured servants.

2.Would say that the social class structure of early United States society, was the same as ours today, or different? Explain.

In my opinion, the U.S. social class structure from 200 years ago is roughly the same as today. Property owners are just as same as the capitalists today, owning the business or assets that can generate more wealth that can be put into generating even more wealth. The differences are the exploitation is even crueler. Having slaves working for the farm owners for free means all of the slaves’ productions are surplus-value. Since the rules are made by the property owners the power balance is completely one-sided, without the working class have even the possibility of gaining power

3.Why were the people who wrote the Constitution so afraid of democracy? Hint: think about how to answer this question by discussing it in terms of social classes.

The people that drafted the Constitution are the owning class. As we know the owning class look for exploitation to the working class and they need the rule to play by their book. Uniting democracy is like giving their enemy weapon, allowing the working class to make decisions will weaken their position. that is why the people who wrote the Constitution were afraid of democracy.

1. Based on the arguments presented in Readings 6.1 and 6.2, which social class wrote the Constitution, and which class was excluded and not allowed to participate in this process? 

Based on the readings 6.1 and 6.2, white, wealthy, landowning males wrote the Constitution, and working class people, women, native americans, black people, and even middle class white male landowners were excluded. In 6.2, Beard summarizes these into four groups, who he called the disenfranchised: “the slaves, the indentured servants, the mass of men who could not qualify for voting under the property tests imposed by the state constitutions and laws, and women” (1). 

2. Would say that the social class structure of early United States society was the same as ours today, or different? Explain.

The social class structure of the early United States was similar to ours, but not the same. While accumulated wealth, education, race, and gender still show divisions in terms of social class, I think wealthy white women in particular have accessed the most “mobility.” They are still somewhat disenfranchised in our patriarchal world, but they are able to get close enough to the money and power that they help maintain the status quo of social classes to preserve their own proximity to the white male landowners of today. Whereas everyone who isn’t close to that kind of generational wealth and whiteness is to be exploited for self preservation, much like in the 1780s.

3. Why were the people who wrote the Constitution so afraid of democracy? Hint: think about how to answer this question by discussing it in terms of social classes.

The people who wrote the constitution were afraid of democracy because their interests were those of the upper class white male landowners were exploiting the majority of workers, many of whom were also debtors if not slaves. The interests of this minority were to continue accumulating wealth and power, and that was most possible through the disenfranchisement of the majority whose competing interests would certainly win in a true democracy.

1.Based on the arguments presented in Readings 6.1 and 6.2, which social class wrote the Constitution, and which class was excluded and not allowed to participate in this process? In your comment, make sure you clearly specify the difference between the two classes by giving examples from the readings. 

According to the reading, the wealthy social class wrote the Constitution. The middle class, working class, slaves, and women are excluded from this process and are not permitted to participate.

2.Would you say that the social class structure of early United States society, was the same as ours today, or different? Explain.

I believe that somehow the social class structure of early United states society is the same as ours today, but it also has its differences. For instance, women are allowed to work, vote, and be part of many decisions. But they are still looked at. They aren’t as valuable. 

3. Why were the people who wrote the Constitution so afraid of democracy? Hint: think about how to answer this question by discussing it in terms of social classes.

The people who wrote the Constitution are afraid of democracy because they fear losing power/control over the people. The people who want democracy want a society where everyone is equal where every voice is essential. Where people would gather and make decisions that benefit everyone. The constitution wants to keep and grow their money.

1.According to readings 6.1 and 6.2, the wealthy class has formulated a constitution, and the middle class and working class are excluded and not allowed to participate in this process. The purpose of their constitution is to protect the interests of the rich from the working class, because the working class is the majority of the population.

2.I think the social class structure of early American society is the same as ours today. Because the wealthy class is still in the minority, while the working class is still in the majority. Although men and women are now equal, people also have a certain income, but The gap between the affluent class and the working class has not changed.

3.The people who drafted the constitution were so afraid of democracy because the majority of people in society were the working class, and the wealthy class accounted for a very small proportion. Secondly, the purpose of the people who drafted the constitution was to protect their interests, and the working class would choose to overthrow the constitution.

1. Based on the arguments from Readings 6.1 and 6.2, it is safe to conclude that the wealthy capitalist class had its interests embedded in the Constitution, while the poor working class, its interests, and values, were excluded from the conversation. To put it into a perspective: “By 1760, fewer than five hundred men in five colonial cities controlled most of the commerce, shipping, banking, mining, and manufacturing on the eastern seaboard” is followed by “South Carolina state senators had to possess estates worth at least £7,000 clear of debt (equivalent to over a million dollars today)” and “Ordinary working people could not take off four months to go to Philadelphia and write a constitution.”
2. Wealth inequality and consequent imbalance of representation are obvious indicators of the fact that the social class structure of the United States has not changed since its inception – the makers of the Constitution, having their best interest at heart, did a terrific job at securing their prosperity, well-being, and class rule for years ahead. Whether we look outside or look into what was happening 250 years ago, we see the same pattern of M-C-M` that is used only by one class, the capitalist one while the working class is underpaid, overworked and miserable.
3. The idea of democracy, as in rule by the common people, would entail a proper redistribution of land which would jeopardize the capitalist class’ privilege and their ability to wield socio-economic power. Unpredictable reactions that would follow the installment of democracy made no sense to the wealthy capitalists – why bet on something dangerous that would bring you down if you could, by creating a government, make sure that your dominant position in the society would never be compromised?