Jones, Jacqueline. Created Equal. (2003)

The Constitution of 1787 was the basis for the struggle of democracy. It was written in Philadelphia, which developed from the Articles of Confederation, and was declared the law of the land. But for who did the law of the land apply to? The founding fathers that were trying to shape the new country were represented as a social elite. They were anti-federalists who believed in strong localized governments. The notion “all men are created equal”, as stated in the Declaration of Independence, was not an interest to the founding fathers. They actually did not want to give people political equality and were not democratic. Thomas Jefferson, one of the political leaders, was even a slave owner. In fact, the framers of the constitution gave African males only a 3/5 vote because they were declared less than human. The framers feared political equality because they wanted only the upper-class and highly educated to represent America. The first three words of the constitution are “We the people”. By these three words of the preamble, the founding fathers meant that the people described in the constitution were only white, males. This meant that you had to be white and you had to be male to be a part of “the people.” “We the people” did not give a democracy to women or colored people. This explains why Chinese and European immigrants, and women struggled for democracy.

The struggle for democracy in America has been apparent since the start of this nation and is still apparent today. Although a perfect democracy will cease to exist, the democratic “yardstick” has been growing. Today, women are allowed to vote, immigrants are given opportunity and help from the government, and people are becoming more politically equal with one vote to a person. Although we are becoming more democratic, the notions of race, class, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and religion prevent us from being a truly democratic society. People will always strive for equality and liberty and that’s why Greenberg and Page entitled their book, Struggle for Democracy. In their book, Greenberg and Page state how the three principles of democracy are not attainable in perfect form, which are popular sovereignty, political equality, and political liberty. “They are, rather, ideals to which our nation can aspire and standards against which we can measure everyday reality.”

entation, and class have affected the three p

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