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Makeup of Framers of the Constitution

The group which benefitted most from the original Constitution of the United States was composed of rich white males. These rich white men were the Framers of the Constitution, and it should not be a surprise that they created a document of law which first and foremost protected their own self-interests, their own power and property. As we read,

for example, slavery was permitted to flourish. In addition, because the Constitution leaves voting qualifications to the states, persons without property, women, and many African Americans were long disenfranchised. . . . The framers had deliberately avoided direct election of senators, for the Senate was seen as a check on the multitudes (Cummings and Wise 46).

Certainly the argument can be made that the Framers were working in a moral and political context different than our own. It can also be argued that the Constitution created by these men was a monumental advancement toward democracy and liberty from conditions under the British. However, whatever the explanation or rationalization, the result is clear: rich white men benefitted most from the original Constitution. These men wrote a document which led to power being held by themselves, on both state and federal levels.

The Federalist Papers reveal the basic desires of the Framers which formed the ideas behind the design of the Constitution:

1. A government endowed with certain positive powers, but so constructed as to break the force of majority rule and prevent invasions of the property rights of minorities. 2. Restrictions on the state legislatures which had been so rigorous in their attacks on capital (Cigler and Loomis 25).

The Framers accepted the fact that "unequal distribution of property is inevitable" and believed that "an overbearing majority" composed of "the landless proletariat" was the greatest threat to those who had the bulk of the property (Cigler and Loomis 26).

In other words, the Framers produced ...

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Makeup of Framers of the Constitution. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 14:03, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1691808.html