- 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 wealthy “elite gentlemen” were the ones who wrote the constitution, they represented affluent merchants, banks, and the landowning class. They were part of a minority that controlled most shipping, banking, mining, and manufacturing on the east. The “working class” was excluded from the constitutional convention because they couldn’t afford to take time off. Working people are poor farmers, free African Americans, women, slaves.
- Would say that the social class structure of early United States society, was the same as ours today, or different? Explain.
Economic inequality and class divisions are common to both early American society and modern society, but their exact processes and structures have changed. The strict, legally enforced racial and class hierarchies of earlier times made space for more systemic and economic forms of inequality in today’s society. The wealthy landowning elites, in the South (plantation owners) and North (industrialists and merchants), held the majority of wealth and political influence. Today, economic inequality continues to exist, with the top 1% of earners controlling an unfair proportion of wealth.
- Why were the people who wrote the Constitution so afraid of democracy?
The Constitutional framers were afraid of democracy because they saw it as a threat to their money and possessions. Wealthy property owners were concerned about two major threats: the debtor class uprising and the potential power of the masses. They had witnessed debtor rebellions like the Shays Rebellion.The wealthy elite were concerned that true democracy would enable the non-wealthy majority to vote against their economic interests.
