1. The main purpose of this article is to look at the Constitution from a different view. Zinn takes the Constitution and breaks it down into separate parts, analyzing and critiquing specific points that the constitution made.
2. The key question that the author is addressing is if the constitution really includes equality to all, or if the constitution was made up by rich men FOR rich men.
3. The most important evidence in this article is :
a. Beard noticed that the rich must control the government directly in order for the rich to prosper.
b. Beard also noticed that the majority of the men who made up the constitution were wealthy, white men who owned land and slaves.
c. “Economic interests they understood and felt in concrete, definite form through their own personal experience” was quoted for the wealthy men who represented the constitution.
d. Shay’s rebellion was a series of attacks against the government and judges in order to stop the taxing laws and unequal petitions that were being passed against the poor farmers.
e. Due to these break outs, many of these people were sentenced death, or put in jail.
f. “The people who are insurgents have never paid any, or but very little taxes.” Was quoted by Knox who was pointing out the fact that the wealthy see the defects in our government, but don’t do anything to help the “equality for all” that is written in the constitution.
g. Zinn states that the government claims to be a ‘referee’ over the nation to keep peace and equality among the people. But he also raises the question, “Is it that the government has some special interest in maintaining a certain kind of order, a certain distribution of power and wealth, a distribution in which government officials are not neutral referees but participants.”
h. Men such as James Madison and Hamilton started “Federalist Papers” which raised different questions and debates about the...