The Constitution: An Elitist Document Analysis

The Constitution is not an elitist document because of the equal benefits provided to man, the need of social classes, and the check of power.
The Constitution is not an elitist document because the founding fathers made it for the good of all mankind. “They did not believe in man but they believed in the power of a good political constitution (Hofstadter 55).” This quote shows this document was needed to protect all men, not just the estates of the fathers. Man would destroy themselves if they were to rule each other. White men also benefitted from the rules set down by the founding fathers. Hofstadter (58) mentions in his book the men who created the Constitution were, “..active in demanding such vital liberties as freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and press, jury trial, due process, and protection from unreasonable searches and seizes.” This shows the fathers created rules because they had to ensure protection of liberty, but added benefits for all men to grant them their own kind of freedom. Although the Constitution was not created for equality of all men and women of all

“If, in a state that lacked constitutional balance, one class or one interest gained control…. It would plunder all interests (Hofstadter 57).” This shows the fathers knew social classes had to stand for a reason. Without social classes the population would slowly turn into a communist government by demanding equal assets. The rich have to stay rich and the poor must stay poor, otherwise there may be an uprising. “....fearful the poor would plunder the rich… (they) admitted that the rich, unrestrained, would also plunder the poor (Hofstadter 57).” One class can not have too much power because it would lead to an anarchy. This document meant to hold up a democracy, not anarchy. The reason why the rich benefitted from the system was because if they had not, the social classes would have been