1. Which social class wrote the Constitution, and which class was excluded and not allowed to participate in this process?
The social class that crafted the Constitution consisted predominantly of rich, land-owning elites—those with economic and political influence. As per Charles Beard in An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States, the framers were men with personal and economic interests. They were mostly rich merchants, big planters, and slave masters. For instance, the majority of of the southern delegates were plantation owners on a large scale who wished to maintain their financial interests, including slavery as an institution. Similarly, merchants and city elites in the northern states were represented because they wished for more secure commercial controls. Lawmakers were more interested in their own economic interests being protected by the Constitution which would prevent potential instability caused by debtor-relief policies or movements for equality endangering their fortunes.
Conversely, the disfranchised, were the white men with no property or land, slaves, women, and, to some extent, the working class. Most of the poor white men were disfranchised due to limited property qualifications and could not vote or hold office. In some states, disqualification on the basis of some property requirements deprived a large majority of the adult male population to be politically active. Enslaved people, who were a vital part of the southern economy, were also excluded from the process. In addition to this exclusion, the Constitution counted them as only three-fifths of a person for purposes of representation and taxation, withholding from them any meaningful political voice. Women where subjected to misogyny and discrimination which led to them having no representation whatsoever in the Constitutional Convention. Legal and social systems of the time limited women’s rights and ensured that their interests were not taken into account when the Constitution was drafted. The Constitution was framed to maintain the dominance of individuals who owned property and wealth and to establish an elite-governed system.
2. Would you say that the social class structure of early United States society was the same as ours today, or different? Explain.
There is a stark distinction between the social class structures present in Early America and the ones present now. The main difference has to be that in the past, political participation had been restricted to wealthy elites and landlords only whereas now, citizens, irrespective of their gender, color and ethnicity can be involved. Mechanisms like the electoral system and Constitution were designed by people who owned property or are rich enough while disenfranchising women, slaves, white males with no property, people from working class, so that the interests of the rich can be protected. Conversely, in modern American society, voting rights are for every citizen and it does not discriminate between the rich or poor. However, there is still definitely socioeconomic disparities arising from income inequality with the wealthier group of people having disproportionate power over politics in terms of lobbying and campaign contributions.
3. Why were the people who wrote the Constitution so afraid of democracy?
The framers of the Constitution resented democracy because they were afraid that it would serve power and shift control from the wealthy elites to the lower class—those who do not own property. As Charles Beard elaborates, the Constitution was written by those who wanted to protect the interests of the property-holding class. They especially renounced the menace of insurrections or “mob rule” under which the disfranchised, and above all the debtor class and working poor, would be able to make demands on policy that assailed the economic order. Madison, for instance, in Federalist #10 worried about “factions” or groups which might act on their own interest to the harm of the public good and were generally driven by economic distress or class grievances.
In early America, the fear of democracy existed because elites were afraid the commoners would seek to redistribute money, or pass debtor-relief legislation that would harm the economic interests of the elites. Shays’ Rebellion, in which Massachusetts farmers protested paying taxes and debt collectors, was a demonstrated example of this threat. The framers were also concerned that these uprisings would destabilize the nation, and therefore designed a system intended to keep the power of the masses under control by mechanisms like the Electoral College and an indirectly elected Senate by state legislatures rather than by popular elections.