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

2 thoughts on “Discussion Board 6.1”

  1. 1. Based on the readings, it seems that the upper class wrote the Constitution. Those who owned property without any debt and were white males were the ones in charge of writing the Constitution. The working class such as, poor farmers, women, slaves and indigenous people were not allowed to participate in this process. The majority of the population was excluded from creating the Constitution, leaving only the wealthy elite. Those that wanted to be a part of the government had to be worth anywhere from $1000 to $7000 with no debt. According to one of the readings, “A member of the New Jersey legislature had to be worth at least £1,000… In Mary land, a candidate for governor had to own property worth at least £5,000.”
    2. The social class structure almost seems the same as it is today. It’s the same because so little of the population owned so much property and wealth as opposed to the majority. Same as it is today based on past reading and charts, the distribution of wealth is favored towards the 1%.
    3. I believe those who wrote the Constitution were afraid of democracy because they feared the power that common people would get from democracy would threaten their wealth by calling for wealth distribution. They viewed events like Shay’s Rebellion as proof of instability and rationalized that since common people were in the majority of the population, they would be able to act up against the wealthy elite.

  2. 1] In early America, Framers wrote the constitution. The have (White males who owned property) and have-nots (Slaves, artisans, Native Americans, African Americans (even those free in the North and South) weren’t allowed to be apart of this process. The constitution was aimed to be a “defense against the poor.”
    2] I would say the social class structure today is the same as it was during the early United States. There’s still a division of power and resources between race and gender as well as rich and poor
    3] The people who wrote the constitution (framers) were so afraid of democracy because they thought it could lead to mob rule, chaos, and bad decisions driven by emotions instead of reason. They had seen uprisings like Shays’ Rebellion and knew from history that too much direct power in the hands of the people could lead to instability. Instead, they created a republic with checks and balances to slow things down and keep power in the hands of educated, land-owning elites who they believed were more capable of governing wisely.

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