Capitalists/wealthy white men wrote the constitution, and purposefully wrote laws to keep themselves powerful, and the poor weak and uneducated. Only white property owners could vote, black people still enslaved and considered 3/5 of a person definitely couldn’t vote, women couldn’t vote. Anyone who did not fit the rich white man standard was not able to vote. For example Michael Parenti argued “In twelve of the thirteen states (Pennsylvania excepted), only property owning White males could vote, probably not more than 10 percent of the total adult population. Excluded were all Native Americans (“Indians”), persons of African descent, women, indentured servants, and White males lacking sufficient property. This except just proves that this government was built on hate and exclusion, making it harder for regular people to be represented within the government . Many messed up parts of the constitution is still around to this day which is why the rich continue to get richer and the poor poorer.

I would say that the class structures are slightly different because of the rise of the middle class, and people now having more opportunities for work and owning their own business. However the elite still controls the government, wanting the working class to stay idle and not jeopardize their money. Society has evolved just not over the corruption of the government

The elite were afraid of losing their wealth, and being considered better than their counterparts because of the money the had. The elite wanted to keep the control of society because the working class was seen as uneducated, and did not know how to run a government.

The Constitution was written by the people with money, such as wealthy landowners, merchants, creditors, and slaveholders. These men wanted to protect their property and power. In 6.1 article points out that only about 10% of white men could even vote, while women, Native Americans, enslaved people, servants, and poor white men without land were excluded. Also in article 6.2, it notes that small farmers and people who owe money, who made up much of society, had no say in the process.

I think the class structure back then was both different and the same as today. In 1787, whole groups were legally blocked from voting, which is not the case now. But money and wealth still play a huge role in politics today, so in that sense, the big divide between rich and poor continues.

The framers feared democracy because they saw it as giving power to the poor majority. Shays’s Rebellion showed them how farmers could rise against taxes and debt. Madison even said the unequal distribution of property would always cause conflict. To keep their wealth safe, the framers built in protections like the Senate, the Electoral College, and property restrictions, so the system would look democratic but still favor the ones with money.

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.