Do you think our country's founding fathers were aristocrats?

Question

Although they were good men, did they accurately represent the status of the average person at that time of our country's history? Both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson lived in mansions. Most were wealthy and they all attended lavish events and ceremonies.

Answer 1

It is tricky to apply the word Aristocrats to American 'fat Cats' because in Europe one can be an Aristocrat and be flat broke. One might inherit Title & Even a Swank Castle and yet be saddled with debt. In Colonial America it is true that men such as Washinton inherited the trappings of wealth, land & slaves, but he was expected to work hard tio manage and improve those lands. Mother Mary Washington raised five children on her own, father Augustus having died early. And Washington worked - - - surveying was arduous work, weeks, months spent breaking 'virgin' wilderness, sleeping on the hard ground with perhaps a blanket or two, eating squirrel and wild berries.

Equally hard working was John Adams - - - now in his case it could be argued that Adams had been in the colony for four generations and Adams were at the top of the social heap BUT John came from the poor side of the family. And Adams was another worker, Despite efforts by Thomas Jefferson and cronies to paint Adams as an Aristocrat, a closet Monarchist, and despite Adams being a Lawyer & Politician & Diplomat, and despite being dubbed Fat, John Adams revelled in being a Farmer, and took pleasure in working his fields, espeially haying time when he enthusiastically joined in with his farm workers.

And Abigail Adams managed the family farm during the heigth of the revolution.

John Hancock was possibly the most Aristocratic, but he was a Merchant Prince and expected to host lavish entertainments. Even on the rough American Frontier people expected to have a good time. And Hancock preffered to hang out with brewer Samuel Adams, and artisan Paul Revere, among other tradesmen.

What is ironic is that the true Aristocrat in the bunch was Thomas Jefferson, who lived on credit, often stiffing creditors, a man who displiked mingling with commoners, prefered a table with select guests, and yet Jefferson was dubbed the Man of the People. Go figure.

America's founding fathers might not faithfully reflect the average American of the time but they were aware of their needs & wants and easilly mingled with them. America was most likely at its most Democratic at the very beginning, and it was only when America began to grow when Class Distinctions & Snobbery beame endemic.

A final note it can be argued persuavively that during the time of The American Revolution there were no Ordinary Americans, they were all Extra Ordinary Americans...

Peace,,,,

Answer 2

Clearly yes. The US was formed from British colonies, and the colonies, especially in the south, formed a society that was a copy of the home country, which was, at that time, an aristocracy dominated by landowning families.

Most of the Founding Fathers were children and grandchildren of wealthy landowners. There were some exceptions - Hamilton and Franklin - but most were aristocrats.

Answer 3

While I wouldn't quite call them aristocrats, they were definitely wealthy. I've often wondered this myself. I think, for the time, they were a fairly accurate representation of the people who would become involved in the budding government, though not of the general population. I also think they went to great lengths to leave class, social status, and any other indications of a persons "financial" standing out of the equation. They were a group of well meaning, forward thinking individuals.

Answer 4

To the actual question, the part about our founding fathers, i think they would be disappointed to see the extent of the abuse of power, but i disagree with your points. "Tyrannical rule" is not a problem, and i completely disagree with your "hired presidents" conspiracy theory. As for those who "whimper at the first sight of danger", i don't know who you are talking about, and (disagree all you want) the army has rarely helped defend America since World War 2. The Vietnam war and the Iraq war in particular were not to help this country, it was to save France and spread democracy for the first one, and to get oil and spread democracy for the second one. And for the last part... what do you mean "none dare oppose us"? There are a dozen other countries that could blow up the world, and plenty of countries, not just them, oppose us. And I don't know if you actually know what the Taliban is, but they are not like America in the revolutionary war. I hope that helps =P

Answer 5

America's founding fathers were landed aristocrats of high birth. Their lives didn't look like many of their countrymen's, but they captured the hopes and dreams of a majority of the colonists.

With very few exceptions, those who have held high elected government positions throughout our country's history have come from the affluent and educated among us. This isn't a bad thing as many of them have represented not just themselves but those who have much less.

Answer 6

No, not in the sense of English aristocracy. They had no titles but they had influence and property.
What else is new? The wealthy have always run things.

Answer 7

No. Most were businessmen sick of paying large amounts of profit back to England in the form of taxes. America has been capitalist from the get go.