Jonah Patel
The United States Constitution was drafted in 1787 by a group of 55 wealthy white men, many of whom were slave-owners, merchants, and landowners. These Founding Fathers were among the wealthiest people in the colonies, and they expected to continue guiding the young nation. The Constitution was designed to ensure the aristocracy would continue to rule, with the vote being reserved for people of wealth and education. The Founding Fathers did not want a direct democracy where all Americans would get to vote on all issues, and they saw no threat in a minority of wealthy men withholding political and economic power from the majority.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Who wrote the Constitution? | Wealthy men |
| Who was the Constitution written for? | The wealthy |
| Who did the writers of the Constitution expect to guide the nation? | The wealthy |
| Who did the writers of the Constitution not want to have power? | The poor, uneducated common people |
| Who did the writers of the Constitution expect to participate indirectly? | The poor, uneducated common people |
| Who did the writers of the Constitution not want to restrict? | People with other kinds of political participation |
| Who did the writers of the Constitution worry about? | Populism and mob rule |
| Who did the writers of the Constitution not want to get into power? | Demagogues |
| Who did the writers of the Constitution not trust? | The masses |
| Who did the writers of the Constitution think would be better citizens? | Wealthy men of substance and property |
| Who did the writers of the Constitution think would destroy the republic? | Wealthy men of substance and property |
| Who did the writers of the Constitution need to make concessions to? | The middle class |
| Who did the writers of the Constitution exploit? | Slaves, Indians, and poor whites |
| Who did the writers of the Constitution protect? | The minority of the opulent |
| Who did the writers of the Constitution not protect? | Black slaves, free colonists of colour, and women |
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What You'll Learn
The US Constitution was designed to protect the interests of the wealthy
The US Constitution was written by and for the wealthy, and it was designed to protect their interests. The Founding Fathers, who were among the wealthiest people in the colonies, expected that their class would continue to guide the young nation. They saw no threat in a minority of wealthy men withholding political and economic power from the majority.
The Founding Fathers were rich landowners, merchants, and slave owners who held political power both before and after independence from Britain. They had interests to protect, and they designed the Constitution to ensure the aristocracy would continue to rule society. They wrote of the need to protect the minority against the "tyranny of the majority", but they did not want to restrict political participation by the common people, the poor, and the uneducated. Instead, they expected them to participate indirectly through local government, town halls, meetings, and protest actions.
The Founding Fathers did not want a direct democracy where all Americans would get to vote on all issues. They believed that voting should be reserved for people of wealth and education. They saw democracy as a bad form of government because it could lead to the election of demagogues who appeal to the frenzy of the masses. The popular vote had almost no place in the government they designed. Only the House of Representatives was popularly elected, and even then, only property owners were allowed to vote, further disenfranchising the poor and keeping power in the hands of the wealthy.
The Constitution also served the interests of a wealthy elite by protecting their property and investments. For example, the Constitution grants Congress the power to lay and collect taxes, but this power is limited by the requirement of uniformity and the stipulation that direct taxes be apportioned according to population. This protected the wealthy from unfair taxes.
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The Founding Fathers were among the wealthiest people in the colonies
The Founding Fathers of the United States were a group of late-18th-century revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence from Great Britain, and established the United States of America. They crafted a framework for the new nation's government, which included the writing and signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution.
Many of the Founding Fathers were among the wealthiest people in the colonies, and they expected this group to continue guiding the young nation. They were native-born, of British heritage, and were leaders in their communities and colonies, assuming responsibility for public affairs. Nearly half were lawyers, while the rest were primarily businessmen and planter-farmers.
George Washington, the single person most identified as the "Father" of the United States, was a Virginia planter and land surveyor before becoming a colonel in the Virginia Regiment. He was born into a landowning family and married a wealthy widow. He was also a slave owner, a common trait among the Founding Fathers. Washington was elected unanimously as president of the 1787 Constitutional Convention and became the nation's first president.
Benjamin Franklin, born in 1706, was the oldest of the Founding Fathers. He was a successful printer and publisher, as well as an accomplished scientist and inventor in Philadelphia. By his early 40s, he was one of the wealthiest Americans, with an aggregate income of £2,000 a year, or $300,000 today. He invested in 89 rental properties in Philadelphia and land speculation further west.
Other Founding Fathers, such as John Hancock, also became wealthy through business ventures. Hancock was adopted by his uncle, possibly the richest merchant in New England, and learned the whale oil exporting business. He later took over the firm, expanded it, and created a network of stores and ships that increased his wealth.
The Founding Fathers' wealth and power influenced the design of the Constitution, which some argue was created to maintain the power of the wealthy. The Constitution was written so that citizenship rights were limited, and only the House of Representatives was popularly elected by the people. The Senate and the President were selected by those who already had power, often derived from money.
While the Founding Fathers may have envisioned a different form of democracy than what exists today, their wealth and influence undoubtedly shaped the early government and politics of the United States.
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The wealthy Founding Fathers were also slave owners
The United States Constitution was drafted by wealthy men, many of whom were slave owners. The Founding Fathers, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin, were among the wealthiest people in the colonies. They were also slave owners, and the Constitution they drafted was designed to protect the interests of the wealthy and maintain their power.
The Founding Fathers' commitment to private property rights and limited government prevented them from taking a bold stand against slavery. They recognised that slavery violated the core American ideal of liberty, but their economic interests and racial prejudice took precedence. Thomas Jefferson, for example, initially condemned the slave trade in his draft of the Declaration of Independence, but he also absolved Americans of responsibility for owning slaves, blaming British colonial policies.
George Washington, the first US president and president of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, owned hundreds of slaves. While his views on slavery evolved during the Revolutionary War, he never took a public stand against it. Washington was the only Founding Father to free the slaves he owned in his will. James Madison, another Founding Father, also recognised the injustice of slavery but prioritised a strong central government and maintaining unity over its abolition.
The Founding Fathers' wealth and power were intertwined with the institution of slavery, which had deep roots in the colonies. They understood that slavery contradicted their ideals of liberty and freedom, but they chose to protect their economic interests and maintain social order. The Constitution they created was designed to keep the wealthy in power, and the issue of slavery was a regional and political divide that they navigated carefully to preserve the unity of the young nation.
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The wealthy wrote the rules to keep themselves in power
The United States Constitution was written by the Founding Fathers, who were among the wealthiest people in the colonies. They were rich landowners, merchants, and slave owners who held political power before and after independence from Britain. They had interests to protect, and they wrote the Constitution to ensure that the aristocracy would continue to rule.
The Founding Fathers did not want a direct democracy where all Americans would vote on all issues. They believed that voting should be reserved for people of wealth and education, and they designed a system where the common people, the poor, and the uneducated would participate indirectly through local governments, town halls, meetings, and protests. They saw no threat in a minority of wealthy men withholding political and economic power from the majority.
The Constitution was written to protect the wealthy and keep them in power. For example, the popular vote did not appoint judges, the president, or senators. Only members of the House of Representatives were directly elected by the people, and even then, only property owners were allowed to vote, further disenfranchising the poor. The Founding Fathers also ensured that the Constitution gave broad powers of taxation to Congress, which could be used to protect their wealth.
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The Founding Fathers opposed direct democracy
The Founding Fathers of the United States were among the wealthiest people in the colonies when they drafted and signed the Constitution. They expected that the wealthy would continue to guide the young nation. They were decidedly against direct democracy, believing that it was a bad form of government. They thought that once everyone was allowed to participate, it would be easy to elect a demagogue who would appeal to the frenzy of the masses.
The Founding Fathers were not champions of democracy. They were eager to shed a monarchical system, but they were also uncomfortable with democracy, or what they saw as "mob rule". They believed that a pure democracy, like an authoritarian monarchy, would be subject to the whims of human nature and result in a fundamentally flawed approach to governing. They were concerned about populism and mob rule, and they thought that there were too many voices in the state legislatures.
Instead, the Founding Fathers favoured a representative democracy, where the right of election is well-secured and regulated, and the exercise of the legislative, executive, and judiciary authorities is vested in select persons, chosen by the people. They wanted a moderate government, which would be most likely to be happy, regular, and durable.
The Founding Fathers expected the common people, the poor and uneducated, to participate indirectly through their local government, at town halls and meetings, and through protest actions like boycotts. They also provided for a process to change or amend the Constitution, which was used to ratify the 12th Amendment in 1804, establishing separate Electoral College votes for the president and vice president.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, the US Constitution ensured that the wealthy had power. The Founding Fathers, who were among the wealthiest people in the colonies, designed the Constitution to maintain the power of the wealthy and aristocratic classes.
The Founding Fathers ensured that only the House of Representatives was directly elected by the people. The Senate and the President were selected by people who already had power, i.e., wealthy people. Additionally, only property owners were allowed to vote, further disenfranchising the poor.
No, the Founding Fathers expected the common people, the poor, and the uneducated to participate indirectly through local governments, town halls, meetings, and protests.
No, they did not want a direct democracy where all Americans could vote on all issues. They believed that the vote ought to be reserved for people of wealth and education.
No, the Founding Fathers had their own interests to protect. They saw no threat in a minority of wealthy men withholding political and economic power from the majority.
