1. The Constitution was written by the wealthy owning-class; landowners, slave owners, and those who had strong political influence. Michael Parenti stated, “in most states, only property-owning white males could vote.” This shows how the working-class were excluded from having a voice in the government. All the while, a great amount of the society were excluded from this proceeding; “small farmers, indentured servants, enslaved people, women of all races, and Native Americans.” According to Charles Beard, these groups of people were “…disenfranchised and subjected to the discriminations of the common law. These groups were, therefore, not represented in the Convention which drafted the Constitution. This illustrates that there was no representation for the disenfranchised and they faced discrimination.
  2. Our society has advanced in a lot of ways, however, economic disparities and elitist political influence remain just as significant as it was in early America. In the early days of the United States, those who were wealthy and owned land or businesses had a voice within the government. The system was founded on the relation with money and political influence. Regular citizens had little to no influence within the government. Although a lot more democratic processes exist today, wealth and political power are still concentrated within the hands of a small percentage of the population. They also use things like lobbying and campaign  donations, to help them push their agenda and protect their personal/financial interest. Even though, it seems more rights have been given to the people and we have advanced as a society, the rich still influence the decisions of our government. 
  3. The framers were afraid that if the working class citizens had too much power, they would pass laws that challenged the wealth and property of the elite. To avoid this, they made a system where elected officials make important decisions.

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