Observation: Supporters of the U.S. Constitution of 1787 (ratified 1788) were a group of economic elites (bourgeoisie / merchant-bankers, 1%, choose your term), offered no guarantee of rights in the proposed governing document. It was only when they realized they would have to accede to demands for a list of guaranteed rights to get adequate votes for ratification that they agreed to a "Bill of Rights." So, the "Bill of Rights" was a concession that allowed fairly narrow approval of the document.
By contrast, the "radical" Constitution of Pennsylvania of 1776 was drawn up by working class delegates to replace the proprietary rule of the Penn family. A "Declaration of Rights" was the first thing after the Preamble. This document served until it was overthrown by a merchant-banker coup in 1790,
Historians refer to this era as "the Critical Period" and usually sing the praises of the bourgeoisie who pulled us through. This bourgeois document also contains the seeds of its own destruction, perceived and predicted by some observers at the time (Herman Husband, for instance). What we are witnessing now, with the rise of King Donald of Orange, is the natural fruits of putting the levers of power in the hands of an economic elite. This is analogous to the rise of Caesar Augustus in the 1st century CE. The consequences are much more dire now, however.
By contrast, the "radical" Constitution of Pennsylvania of 1776 was drawn up by working class delegates to replace the proprietary rule of the Penn family. A "Declaration of Rights" was the first thing after the Preamble. This document served until it was overthrown by a merchant-banker coup in 1790,
Historians refer to this era as "the Critical Period" and usually sing the praises of the bourgeoisie who pulled us through. This bourgeois document also contains the seeds of its own destruction, perceived and predicted by some observers at the time (Herman Husband, for instance). What we are witnessing now, with the rise of King Donald of Orange, is the natural fruits of putting the levers of power in the hands of an economic elite. This is analogous to the rise of Caesar Augustus in the 1st century CE. The consequences are much more dire now, however.
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