Classes In The Usa
Essay by 24 • March 3, 2011 • 596 Words (3 Pages) • 1,166 Views
When the founding fathers wrote the constitution in 1787, America was already divided by class. The men who wrote it were of the upper ruling class, working as plantation owners, lawyers, merchants, smugglers, and traders. They presided over a divided society of poor whites, women and slaves. The founding fathers were definitely protecting their own interests and the notion that the people of America were united is not accurate at all, African-Americans were not even seen as U.S. citizens until after the Civil War. Before they were freed they were just possessions. They were viewed as machines to do all of the white, male, property owner's work.
The founding fathers first concern was not how to protect the freedom of poor white people, but also how they were going to protect their wealth from the poor people in general. Wealth was largely produced through the labor of slaves. George Washington himself even had 390 human beings as slaves. Even after the slaves were freed the wealth stayed around, but it was still in the hands of upper class, white, male property owners. Women had no rights back in the day either, do you ever hear about famous women doing things in the government in the late 1700's? No. Do you ever read about the women who helped create the government and signed the declaration of independence? No. The founding fathers were all upper class, white, male property owners who didn't care about other people as much as themselves and were mostly focused on protecting their own interests, basically money and power.
Things have definitely changed since the constitution was signed and the government was created. White males still hold the most power in our country but poor people, women and blacks can do things now. For example African-American's are no longer slaves, they can get jobs, buy houses, and run for political office. I think black people who want compensated for the harsh treatment of their ancestors are just need to relax, forget about the past and get a job. Maybe we should give all
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