The
Constitution
is highly honored today, at home and around the world. However, when it was originally written many Americans were against it. They were upset that the document contained no
Bill of Rights
to protect their individual freedoms. Many felt that the Constitution was the work of rich men who meant to weaken what the American Revolution had achieved. This is why many historians agree that if the Constitution had been sent to the people for a vote, it would not have been approved.
Three major groups — African-Americans,
artisans
and small farmers — were especially uncertain about the Constitution. They feared that it would compromise the founding principles of the American Revolution.
African-Americans
Photo of William Lloyd Garrison.Zoom in
Image 2. A photograph of William Lloyd Garrison. Photo: Albert Sands Southworth/The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In 1790, enslaved Black people made up about one-sixth of the nation's population. They knew that the Constitution's lofty words "To create a more perfect union" did nothing to release them and their children from enslavement.
Free African-Americans and white anti-Federalists were disturbed that the Constitution was pro-enslavement. It even contained a fugitive slave clause, which said that runaway enslaved people had to be returned to their owners. Some saw this as proof that northern leaders at the Constitutional Convention had given in to southern enslavers.
In 1845, James Madison's notes on the debates of the Constitutional Convention were finally published. William Lloyd Garrison, the famous
abolitionist
, said the notes showed that the Constitution was "an agreement with hell."
In 1850, Frederick Douglass expressed what many believed about the Constitution. "Liberty and Slavery— opposite as Heaven and Hell — are both in the Constitution," the black abolitionist wrote. He suggested that the words "Liberty and Justice" be replaced with "Kidnapping and Slave holding."
Artisans
Craftsmen, who worked with their hands, were about one-tenth of the population. They were called artisans. They did not all think alike. However, most supported the Constitution. They knew that the Articles of Confederation, written 10 years before, left the Continental Congress with no taxing power and with no authority to raise an army to protect them from violent protests. They worried that enslaved Black people who wanted freedom or white farmers angry about higher taxes and debt would revolt. They also wanted protection for American-made goods. A strong central government would be able to tax goods coming from England. The result would be higher prices on English products and more people "buying American."
Yet a great many artisans also worried about the Constitution. They wanted to be able to borrow money, buy land and get an education. Knowing how important working people were to the community, many artisans feared the rich would feed off the poor, whom they called "the sheeplike masses" and "the vulgar herd." If the Constitution helped the super-wealthy to rise and control business, the small businessman's dreams of success would be crushed.
By the late 18th century, most artisans had drifted away from the Federalist Party that supported the Constitution. Proud to live "by the sweat of their brows," the artisans passed down their fear of government power to later generations of workers.
Small farmers
Amos Singletary was a farmer from Massachusetts who spoke at the state convention gathered in 1788 to approve the Constitution. Singletary was a poor farmer with many debts who had just survived a bloody revolutionary war. He said, "These lawyers, and men of learning, and moneyed men, that talk so finely, and gloss over matters so smoothly ... will swallow up all of us little folks ... just as the whale swallowed up Jonah. This is what I am afraid of."
Singletary did not speak for all farmers and probably not for most of the farmers in Massachusetts. But he spoke for those who earned a small living on the frontiers of the new nation from Maine to Georgia. These poor farmers feared and hated the rich that lived off of the hard-working men.
However, many ordinary farmers did support the Constitution. They accepted the Federalists' ideas that the nation needed a strong central power to collect taxes for national defense and manage relationships with other countries. Later, during hard times, farmers would step forward across the nation to protest that a small number of wealthy Americans were benefiting the most from the Constitution.
Gary B. Nash is professor emeritus of history at the University of California, Los Angeles. His books include "The Urban Crucible: Social Change, Political Consciousness and the Origins of the American Revolution" (1979), "The Unknown American Revolution: The Unruly Birth of Democracy and the Struggle to Create America" (2005) and "The Forgotten Fifth: African Americans in the Age of Revolution" (2006).
Based on the article, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A
Most Anti-Federalists expressed support for the Constitution.
B
Many slave owners did not support the Constitution at first.
C
Freedom and prosperity were two of the major concerns about the Constitution.
D
The Bill of Rights was a key component of the Constitution from the beginning.
C
Freedom and prosperity were two of the major concerns about the Constitution.
According to the section "Artisans," how did some artisans' support of the Constitution change?
A
They supported it at first, but then decided that higher taxes and higher prices were damaging to their businesses.
B
They supported it at first, but then began to fear it gave too much power to the rich and would limit their own success.
C
They opposed it at first, but then began to fear that their ability to succeed in business was dependent on the support of a strong government.
D
They opposed it at first, but then decided it would protect them from violent revolts and allow them to get more education and become more successful.
B
They supported it at first, but then began to fear it gave too much power to the rich and would limit their own success.
How does the author emphasize the perspectives of African-Americans and poor farmers in the article?
A
by comparing the two groups to one another
B
by explaining the differences between the two groups
C
by providing quotations from individuals in those groups
D
by describing the difficult conditions those groups endured
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Next
C
by providing quotations from individuals in those groups
What is the author's MOST likely purpose for including the following statement in the introduction [paragraphs 1-2]?
This is why many historians agree that if the Constitution had been sent to the people for a vote, it would not have been approved.
A
to indicate that the majority of Americans initially disliked the Constitution
B
to explain why historians question the importance of the Constitution
C
to show that many historians dispute the importance of the Constitution
D
to provide evidence supporting the groups who did not like the Constitution
D
to provide evidence supporting the groups who did not like the Constitution