The Framers Of The Constitution In The 20th Century

Until the 20th century it has been understood that the framers of the constitution were “for the people”. Revisionists of the 20th century are painting an entirely different picture. They “argued that the Constitutional Convention was dominated by an elite and that the Constitution itself is an instrument written to protect elite interests.” (Fisk 2014) This could not be further from the truth. The framers are responsible for creating the first ever republican government, did not grant nobility, and creating a constitution with a just bill of rights. The first words of the Preamble of the Constitution are “We the people” not “we the rich”, and with this phrase it is clear that the constitution was written to protect all the people of the
A job of a lawyer is to protect the people; they are driven by the pursuit of justice and fairness for all of humanity. So to indict them because of their profession would be a desperate move. It would be like saying a doctor wants his or her patients to be sick when the whole idea of a doctor, is to keep people healthy. The framers of the Constitution took a bold move in creating a republican government in which the people had a say. All other “civilized” countries at that time were monarchies. It is clear that the framers intended for fair representation of all people. “the House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second year by the People of the Several States.” (Constitution, Article I, sections 2 and 3) the government is being set up so that the people have a voice, giving the people power. “the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” (Bill of Rights, Amendment X) this amendment gives further power to the people. “the United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union a Republican form of government, shall protect each of them against invasion” (Constitution, Article IV, section 4) Not only are they going to set up that type of government they will preserve it. If they hadn’t wanted the people to have a say
For this reason they decided to create a presidency. “the Executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the Term of four years, and, together with the Vice President” (Constitution, Article II, section 1) This is a huge change because a president is elected by the people based off of his or her qualifications and has a definite term while a king is simply born into his position and rules indefinitely. This kind of a rule clearly benefits the common man because he could rise to the position of