keilany rivera

In Readings 6.1 and 6.2, the main argument is that the U.S. Constitution was created primarily by members of the wealthy elite. This group included large merchants, landowners, slave owners, and creditors—people who had significant economic resources and a strong interest in maintaining property rights and social stability. The Framers were generally well-educated and financially secure, and their main concern was designing a political system that would protect wealth and preserve their social and economic position.

In contrast, many groups were excluded from the constitutional process. These included working-class and lower-class individuals such as small farmers, wage laborers, enslaved people, and women—people who did not own property and therefore had limited or no political power. The readings explain that most ordinary people had no direct role in drafting the Constitution. At the time, political participation was closely tied to property ownership and legal status, meaning that mainly white men with property had the right to vote and influence government decisions. Today, this has changed significantly, as legal equality allows most adults to vote and participate in the political system.

The fear of democracy can also be understood through class differences. The elites worried that too much democracy would give lower-class groups, such as debtors and small farmers, the power to pass laws that could harm wealthy interests—for example, by canceling debts or redistributing property. As a result, they designed a system with checks and balances, indirect elections, and limits on direct popular control. These structures were intended to slow down majority power and protect elite interests from what they viewed as excessive democracy.

1. The authors of readings 6.1 and 6.2 argue that most of the authors of the Constitution came from the wealthy propertied class. Parenti notes that the men in Philadelphia were landowners, merchants, bankers, and slaveholding creditors, all of whom wanted a stronger central government to protect their finances, control trade, and pay off debts. Beard similarly argues that those holding “real and personal property” including money lenders, holders of public securities, and commercial interests stood to benefit most from replacing the Articles of Confederation with the Constitution. In contrast, large portions of society were excluded from participating. Beard identifies slaves, indentured servants, property less men, and women as disenfranchised groups who had no real political voice. Parenti also points out that in most states only property-owning White men could vote, which meant that Native Americans, African Americans (enslaved and most free), women, indentured servants, and poor White men were excluded. The key divide was between creditors and debtors, wealthy investors and struggling small farmers. The Constitution was written by those with property, while those without property had no meaningful role in shaping it.
2. I certainly would agree it was different in structure, but not in the case of inequity. In 1787, the political rights of citizens were explicitly linked to the ownership of property. Voting was a privilege and a political power held in the hands of men with wealth. The division of class was both visible and sanctioned by law. Presently, there are no property restrictions, and the right to vote is extended to all citizens over the age of eighteen without regard to race, gender, or wealth. Nonetheless, economic disparity is still instrumental in the distribution of political power. In this regard, class divisions and the utilization of wealth to influence politics were more explicitly exclusionary in the early years of America.
3. The framers had irrational fears of a democracy that consisted of citizens utilizing their newfound ability to participate in government, particularly a democracy that consisted of the “property-less majority”. Parenti states that leaders such as Madison believed that the unequal distribution of property created “factions”, and that the government’s role was to “preserve and protect” property. Events such as Shays’ Rebellion, in which indebted farmers defied and protested the seizing of their property and demanded a “lien” foreclosure and relief, strengthened the elite’s fears that the lower class would exercise their democratic power to perhaps “cancel” indebtedness or even take away the “wealth” of the upper class. Beard states that Creditors were fearful of a more democratic government and of the laws that gave relief to the indebted, such as paper money and relief measures. A government with more power would be able to control such laws and protect contracts and investments. A democracy would primarily be a government of the class that had no money; this would threaten the interest of the upper class, as the majority of the voters would be of a lower economical status. The framers constructed a government that seemed as if it had popular support, but, to a certain extent, incorporated “safeguards” such as the Electoral College, biased senate selections, and a multitude of checks and balances to constrain and limit the direct control of the majority of citizens. Overall, the “fear” that the framers had of a democracy was primarily due to class conflict; democracy would allow the large majority of property-less people to create a government that would take away the rights and power of the upper class.

1. Based on both Readings, the Constitution was mainly written by people from the wealthy property-owning class. These were large landowners, merchants, bankers, investors, and slave owners. They had money, land, and businesses, which gave them a lot of influence in politics. For example, Parenti explains that many of the “Founding Fathers” were wealthy men who controlled land, commerce, and other economic resources.

Beard also shows that people who owned land, investments, shipping businesses, or government securities supported the Constitution because it would protect their property and financial interests.

The class that was excluded from this process was the disenfranchised and working class. This group included enslaved people, women, indentured servants and poor men who did not own property. Since voting required property in most states, these people had no real political power and were not represented at the Constitutional Convention.

2. I think the social class structure of early American society is similar to today in some ways. There are still big differences between people who own wealth and businesses and those who have to work for wages to survive . Even though more people can vote today, economic inequality still affects politics.

3. The writers of the Constitution were afraid of democracy because they believed the majority of people were poor. They worried that if the majority had too much power, they might pass laws that would take property or wealth away from the rich. Because of this , they created a system that limited direct democracy and protected property.

1. The social classes that wrote the constitution were the wealthy. By wealthy I mean people who own land, slaves, people in control of banking, and any general means of production at the time. On the other hand, the people who were not in political position to write the constitution was the working class with nothing to their name. This can be farmers, laborers, servants, and slaves. In the second reading, it says the white men with land were the only ones who could vote. People who did not have these powers were so called disenfranchised. It makes sense the wealthy made the constitution as since voting powers were limited to only white men who were landowners. That would ensure that things always stayed under their control.
2. I think the structure is very similar today only in the sense when it comes to economic status. First and foremost, there is nothing stopping anyone from any race, economic background, or gender from voting so that is one significant difference. However, when it comes to who we are voting for as well as the policies those people push out. Those people we vote for as well as the policies are mostly in the interest of the wealth owning class. As I have mentioned before, no politician today has any campaign without any financial support, of which would only come from the wealthy. Similarly, but in a different way, in that time policies were shaped by the wealthy class as well.
3. The people who wrote the constitution were afraid of democracy because it puts them at an adverse disadvantage with the minority population. Not everyone is rich and there are more poor people than rich, and when you mix it with democracy where majority wins. The class with less people is always gonna lose and this can get all things to be blown out of their proportion and favor, leaving them with less control and wealth. Wealth will disintegrate if democracies always prevailed.

1. The Constitution was written by the “gentlemen” class, or what we might call the ultra wealthy/ 1% class of today, while the working and debtor classes were completely excluded. The gentlemen class were comprised of white, male land owning individuals that had to be of a specific “worth” or value, depending on the state, leaving poor whites, slaves and women not having any of say in the drafting/debate process. Charles Beard goes further to define real property holders as small farmers, manorial lords and slave owners; the first two directly in relation with ownership of land when considering worth.

2. As we’ve touched in in recent Modules, the social class structure is nearly identical as modern day United States. While the criteria of each class might have changed with regards to what is considered valuable or wealthy to make up each class, the structure of having upper, middle/working and poor/impoverished class remains relatively the same.

3. The framers were interested in preserving their wealth and status, believing that their own status as “persons of birth and fortune” (Parenti, 7) should be the ones to guide the nation. As Parenti succinctly puts it, “government is there to see that those who have a talent for getting rich are not hampered in any way by those who might be made poor in the process.”, democracy gets in the way of those who want to be rich at any cost.  

1. According to the readings, the Constitution was mostly written by wealthy members of society such as large landowners, merchants, bankers, and slaveholders. Because they owned property and had investments, they also had political power and could attend the Constitutional Convention. For example, just a few wealthy men controlled most of the commerce, shipping, banking, and land in the colonies. On the other hand, groups like slaves, women, Native Americans, indentured servants, and many poor white men who did not own property were left out. These groups were called the disenfranchised because they had no political rights and could not vote or participate in writing the Constitution. The main difference between the two classes was that the wealthy class owned property and focused on protecting their wealth and stability, while the excluded groups had little or no property and had to work for others to survive.
2. I think the social class structure in early America was similar to today in some ways, but also different. In the past, a small wealthy people had most of the power and wealth, while the majority of people were farmers, laborers, or in debt and struggled to get by. Today, there is still a gap between rich and poor, with some people owning big businesses and wealth, while many others work regular jobs. However, one important difference is that now, more people have political rights. In early America, groups like women, slaves, and poor people could not vote, but today, most adults can legally take part in elections.
3. The people who wrote the Constitution were afraid of democracy because they thought giving too much power to the majority could threaten the interests of wealthy property owners. Since most people were poor or working class, the founders worried that a democratic system might lead to demands for things like canceling debts or redistributing property. For example, Shays’ Rebellion, when struggling farmers protested debt and taxes, made wealthy leaders even more worried about the power of the lower classes. To them, this seemed like a warning that the majority might challenge the existing social and economic order. Because of this, they preferred a republic where elected representatives would make decisions instead of direct rule by the people, which helped limit the influence of the majority.

The Constitution was mainly drafted by wealthy members of the upper class, including merchants, landowners, and investors. These individuals had significant financial interests that they wanted the new government to protect. For example, Beard explains that many farmers owned government bonds, commercial businesses, or large amounts of land, which meant they benefited from a strong national government that would protect property rights and secure the economy. Working-class people, small farmers, laborers, women, enslaved people, and Native Americans were excluded from participating in the constitutional process. These groups had little political power and were not represented at the Constitutional Convention, even though the decisions made there would affect their lives.

The social class structure of the early United States was similar to today’s in some ways, as wealth and economic power are concentrated among a small group of elites who influence political decisions. Parenti states that economic inequality enables the wealthy to control political outcomes more than ordinary citizens do. However, early American society was also different because political participation was far more restricted when the Constitution was written; voting rights were mostly limited to property-owning white men, while today most adults have the legal right to vote regardless of property ownership, gender, or race.

The people who wrote the Constitution were often afraid of direct democracy because they believed that giving too much political power to the majority, especially poorer citizens, could threaten their wealth and property. Many elites feared that farmers, debtors, and workers might pass laws to cancel debts, redistribute land, or challenge the economic system. Events such as Shays’ Rebellion, in which farmers rebelled against taxes and economic hardship, strengthened these fears.

Discussion board 6.1 

Readings 6.1 and 6.2 show that the wealthy people, including financiers, traders, and property owners, created the majority of the constitution. These men wanted the government to safeguard their money and economic interests. Given the fact that voting and political participation were restricted to white men who own land, most of the groups kept out of the process were women, enslaved people, small farmers, and members of the working class 

The class structure was somewhat similar to today because wealth still influences political power, although more people now have the right to vote. The framers feared democracy because they worried that the majority, especially poorer people, might threaten the wealth and property of the upper class.

“Disenfranchised” means deprived of rights or privileges, especially the right to vote or participate in political decisions. The “Disenfranchised” were typically poor farmers, laborers, debtors, and working-class individuals who lacked property and political power. Common factors included economic hardship, little or no property ownership, debt, and limited political influence. Beard is describing the working class (or lower economic class) — people who did not control wealth or productive property. Their class membership is clear because they owned property, businesses, investments, and financial assets, meaning they controlled wealth and the means of production rather than selling their labor for wages.