1.
The Constitution was written by wealthy white men—landowners, merchants, and slaveholders—who wanted to protect their own power. As Beard points out in Reading 6.1, many of them had a personal stake in shaping a government that favored property owners. Poor farmers, enslaved people, women, and Indigenous people were completely left out. Shays’ Rebellion, from Reading 6.2, shows how frustrated poor farmers were—but instead of listening to them, the elites saw it as a reason to clamp down.

2.
I’d say yes, in a lot of ways. While more people have rights today, wealth still decides who really has influence in politics. Just like then, people with money shape the laws and decisions, while working-class voices often go unheard.

3.
They were afraid the lower classes would vote for things that threatened elite interests—like canceling debts or redistributing land. They didn’t trust “the masses,” so they built systems (like the Senate and Electoral College) to keep most power in elite hands. It wasn’t democracy they feared—it was losing control.

When we ask “who wrote the Constitution?” the answer goes beyond just the names of the Founding Fathers. According to Michael Parenti in “Class Power in Early America,” the Constitution was mainly written by wealthy landowners, merchants, slaveholders, and bankers members of the ruling or upper class of that time. Most of the population were farmers, laborers, or poor workers, but these groups had little to no political power, and many couldn’t even vote.

Voting rights in early America were very limited. Only white men who owned property were allowed to vote. That left out women, poor white men, enslaved people, and free Black people. This shows how the government was built to serve the interests of the rich. Parenti explains how the elites feared too much democracy because it might allow the majority working-class people to take power and pass laws that went against wealthy interests.

James Madison’s goal in Federalist #10 was to protect the government from what he called “factions,” especially poor people organizing for their own interests. He believed that a strong central government and systems like the Electoral College would keep the masses from directly influencing decisions.

Charles Beard also supports this view in “An Economic Interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.” He points out that most of the people who wrote the Constitution had money invested in land, banks, or businesses. They created a system that protected property and profit. The “disenfranchised” workers, small farmers, and enslaved people were left out of the process and had no say in shaping the country’s laws.

One major example is the issue of slavery. The Constitution did not end the slave trade because many of the writers directly benefited from slavery. Their wealth was tied to it. So instead of banning it, they protected it to keep their economic power.

In short, the Constitution was not written to represent all people it was written by and for a wealthy, powerful class that wanted to control the new American government in a way that protected their property and privileges.

The Constitution was written by rich people like landowners, merchants, and bankers. They were from the upper class and wanted to protect their money and power. The people who were not allowed to join were the poor, workers, women, Native Americans, and enslaved people. These groups didn’t own land and couldn’t vote.

The class system back then is a little like today. Rich people still have more power, but now more people can vote. Still, money controls many things in politics.

The people who wrote the Constitution were afraid of democracy because they didn’t want poor people to make big changes. They thought the poor might vote for new laws that would hurt the rich. So, they made a system that kept power with the rich.

1. The Constitution was written by wealthy capitalist class which consisted of mostly white men, while groups like women, Native Americans, enslaved people, and poor laborers and white men were excluded from the process. In Reading 6.1, it’s shown that these elites dominated political and economic life, controlling newspapers and public debate to serve their own interests. Meanwhile, Reading 6.2 explains that enslaved people, indentured servants, the poor, and women were denied the right to vote and treated as property or legal dependents, excluded from shaping the government. This separation allowed the wealthy to create a system protecting their wealth and authority while ignoring the needs of the lower classes. The Constitution’s writers were motivated by protecting their financial interests during a time of economic instability in the 13 states. As a result, the voices and rights of marginalized groups were not only ignored then but have been historically suppressed in ways that still affect society today.
2. The social class structure of early US society is both similar to and different from today’s. Like in the past, there is still a clear separation between the wealthy and the poor, and the richest people continue to hold most of the political and economic power. Issues like unequal wealth distribution and property ownership are ongoing concerns for working-class and poor people. However, unlike early US society, today more Americans can vote regardless of property or gender, and social mobility is somewhat more possible through education and opportunity. While class divisions remain, modern society offers more legal rights and protections to those who were historically excluded.
3. The people who wrote the Constitution feared democracy because they belonged to the upper social classes and wanted to protect their property, wealth, as well as their control over society. They believed that if ordinary people, such as poor farmers, laborers, and debtors, gained too much political power, they might pass laws that threatened the elites’ land, businesses, and debts. As Reading 6.1 suggests, the wealthy class used their influence to shape the government to benefit themselves and limit the lower classes’ ability to challenge their authority. Full democracy risked redistributing power and wealth in ways the elites did not want.

1)The Constitution was written by wealthy, upper class men so according to Reading 6.2, many of them owned property, government bonds, and had money invested in businesses. These men wanted to protect their own financial interests. The working class, including farmers, laborers, enslaved people, and poor white people, were left out and basically forgotten in the process. They didn’t have the right to vote, and their voices weren’t included in making the Constitution. In Reading 6.1, it explains that regular people had no say because the government was designed to benefit the elite and keep power in their hands which is unfair.

2)It is both similar and different. Back then, power and wealth were mostly in the hands of rich white men, and poor people had very few rights. Today, things mostly have changed, more people can vote and participate in politics, no matter their income, race, or gender. However, the class structure is still somewhat similar because wealthy people still have more influence over politics(an example of today could be Elon with Trump), just like the rich men who wrote the Constitution. Another example, big corporations and billionaires can donate huge amounts of money to campaigns and shape laws in their favor.

3)The writers of the Constitution were afraid of democracy because they didn’t trust regular people to make decisions. They worried that if poor people had too much power, they might vote to take wealth or land from the rich. In Reading 6.1, it says that the elite wanted to keep control and prevent “mob rule.” They created a system that made it hard for the majority (the working class) to have real power, even though it looked like a democracy. Their goal was to protect their own social class from any threats from below.

1. Both authors agree that the constitution was written by the wealthy capitalist class. The lower or working class, whoever is not a part of the 1% was left out of writing of the constitution. This was to prevent them from making decisions that would benefit them in any way. Beard made the example that farmers were most interested in the safety of their financial interest. While Parenti tells us how the elite were focused on creating a government structure that maintained their power and control over economic resources.
2. There are a number of similarities and differences between early US society and our society today. Some similarities include that there is a clear view on what is considered the lower and upper classes. Also the wealthy still have the majority of the power over the economy, and lastly the concerns that the lower class have about property and wealth distribution remain the same. Some differences are that voting is highly accessible to all Americans and we have more of a democratic voting system. Also this economy has more of a flexible social class.   
3. The reason why the people who wrote the constitution were so afraid of democracy is because of the power that it gives the lower class to make decisions on the economy. To them it’s a risk of empowering the lower/ working class. This is because the constitution was designed to limit democratic influence. 
   
   
   
   
   

1. The class secluded and not allowed in the process was women, slaves, native Americans, and poor white men. The class that wrote the Constitution was wealthy, white men who owned properties and had substantial wealth. In reading 6.1, “In the period from the American Revolution to the Constitutional Convention (1776–1787), the big landowners, merchants, and bankers exercised a strong influence over politico-economic life, often dominating the local newspapers that served the interests of commerce.” This was how it started how their society accepted that this class should determine how to regulate problems and control people. Determining who had influence and who was actually human in their eyes made the lower class not have a conscious about how they should make their presence known. The ones who were okay because their needs needed to be met only mattered right there and then. In reading 6.2 “the slaves, the indented servants, the mass of men who could not qualify for voting under the property tests imposed by the state constitutions and laws, and women, disenfranchised and subjected to the discriminations of the common law”. Having no voice leads to discrimination till this day which is insane we can still not break this “norm” in our anxiety of who is wealthy and surviving and who is poor. Years and years of being kept the same and not changing is why there has been little progress and why people till this day have a fixed mindset. The wealthy only want to quench their debt problems because with new freedom that is why they wanted to write the constitution. However they only wanted to make sure their problems were solved and continue to survive because there was a lot of money problems within the 13 states. Yet the problems of the miniorties and women were non existent because they weren’t considered human.
2. I would say it is the same because things have stayed the same for a long time. So things that are rooted, because years went by without change, that’s why there are usually a class who has wealth and who doesn’t this created a vicious cycle. Problems stayed the same just a different society changing slowly accepting new labels and ideas. Yet we battle theories that have the same foundation yet develop with what president we have.
3. The founders feared that they would be overthrown if the poor united and there would be no control. The minorities were growing steadily yet the wealthy wanted to stay in power because that’s what they knew best. Thats why the people that were elected that were from the wealthy class such as landowners, merchants had a role in the constitution but as well as benefited at the same time to represent others who have the same jobs.

1. Based on the readings, the social class that wrote the Constitution was the property-owning elite, including wealthy merchants, slaveholding planters, and urban businessmen. This class had voting rights, economic power, and political influence. For example, men like Hamilton of New York and Robert Morris of Philadelphia represented interests in banking, shipping, and manufacturing. The class that was excluded from writing the Constitution included slaves, indentured servants, women, and most poor white men who did not meet property qualifications. These groups could not vote and had no political voice. For instance, small farmers in debt were pushing for laws like paper money and debt relief, which threatened the interests of the elite.

2. I think the social class structure back in early U.S. history was definitely different from what we have today, but there are still some similarities. In 1787, the people who wrote the Constitution were mostly wealthy landowners, merchants, and slaveholders. They had power because they owned property and had money. Meanwhile, huge groups of people like women, enslaved people, poor farmers, and even some working men were completely left out of the process. They didn’t have a voice at all. Pretty much everyone can vote now, and we have laws that are supposed to protect equality. But at the same time, money still plays a big role in politics. Rich people and big businesses still have a lot of influence through lobbying and campaign funding. So while more people are included today, class still affects who really gets heard, kind of like it did back then just in a different way.

3. The people who wrote the Constitution were afraid of full democracy because they were mostly from the upper social classes wealthy landowners, merchants, and slaveholders who wanted to protect their property and power. They worried that if too much power was given to the general population, especially the working class and poor farmers, those groups might vote for laws that took away property or forgave debts.