Where is the word "Capitalism" in any founding US documents?

Question

What did our founding fathers have to say about business and government, by the way?

Hey flyover, What does life liberty and the persuit of happiness have anything to do with corporate deregulation and oppression of democracy?

Answer 1

The word Capitalism was not in those papers.

Answer 2

Interesting question. I did some Google searching and found this interesting article about Adam Smith and his influence on the founding fathers.

http://adamsmithslostlegacy.com/2006/04/smith-capitalism-and-founding-fathers.html

The author claims that Adam Smith did not write about capitalism. Indeed, the article claims that the word 'capitalism' was not invented until 1854. So if this is true, then the word clearly does not appear in any founding US document (to directly answer your main question). In questioning whether Adam Smith wrote about capitalistic 'concepts' however, the author does not give us a framework to discuss because he does not ever define capitalism. I think this is a grave omission because there is much confusion on the topic of what is capitalism really.

From WordNet:

"
capitalism

noun
an economic system based on private ownership of capital
"

On this basis, I do think that the founders were very much in tune with capitalistic concepts. They were undeniably influenced by John Locke's concept of a natural right to protect his right to life, liberty and property. The founders were quite clear that individuals should be secure in their property - or in other words that capital should be privately owned.

Answer 3

The word "CAPITALISM" was not in any of the founding documents of the United States, for a simple reason... the word Capitalism did not exist... not to mention the concept of Capitalism wasn't fully formed yet... as what is considered the founding text of capitalism, "The Wealth of Nations", by Adam Smith, was only published in 1776... however read the preamble to the Declaration of Indepencance, where it says:

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. [1]

The important part of this excerpt is the last phrase, listing among the unalienable rights, the right to the pursuit of happiness... The phrase is based on the writings of John Locke, who expressed a similar concept of life, liberty, and property. This is no coincidence, as the founding fathers, were heavily influenced by the philosophy of Locke... and among the things they were most upset about, leading to revolution were the lacking of property rights under the King... as in a monarchy property does not belong to the citizens, they belong to the King... the King is the soverign and everything in his realm belongs to the King. The purpose of the revolution was to establish the people as the soverign over their own property. Thus the American Revoution was a battle to establish the right to property... which is the halmark of Capitalism... capitalism is simply the system in which people are the owners of the property and have the right to do with it whatever they choose without fear of government seasure, so long as the rights of others are not violated. Contrast this system to the other major systems, like socialism (a much later concept) in which the property was owned collectivly, in other words by the government... or a monarchy where all property was the Kings, and he could sieze anybody or any thing he wanted!

Furthermore, an alternative phrase "life, liberty and property", is found in the Declaration of Colonial Rights, a resolution of the First Continental Congress.

So there you go... Capitalism was at the heart of the American Revolution, and it was the desire of the founding fathers to establish a capitalist system, even though the concept hadn't yet been given the name "captialism" yet!

Answer 4

The right for to own property was a natural first step for Capitalism. Most of the founding fathers had heavy business backgrounds. However, if they were here today, I'm pretty sure they would think the inner marriage between the National government and business is disgusting. If that didn't push them over the edge, the heavy taxation and our enormous debt would send them in the Congress with canes held high!

Answer 5

Around the time our founding fathers wrote the constitution, Adam Smith's economic philosophy was the dominant one. He recommended that business would flourish if the government would just stay out of it and he was right for the most part. But business flourished so well that it started interfering with government instead. Some business would use government to drive their competition out of business or too borrow or take tax money for expansion even if they didn't make an honest profit. Our founding fathers should have made an amendment to keep business and government seperated. Most of them were statesmen not economist.

Answer 6

Personally, I consider Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations" to be one of America's founding documents, and it forms the basis of modern capitalism.

But Blueridge is right. We don't practice capitalism much above the small business level in the US of A. We practice corporate Socialism with an hereritary managerial class, who consider "Free Enterprise" to mean being free of enterprise.

It's not just No bid contracts, it's regulations designed to thwart the Free Market by favoring Big Business over small business and consumers. It's maintaining a special court for stockholder suits that has never once ruled in favor of the stockholders. It's bankruptcy courts that allow managers to give themselves a bonus for having plundered their companies. It's "Tort Reform" to rein in the huge settlements that are the only effective punishment for Corporate scale fraud and negligence.

The Founders, many of whom themselves were hardnosed businessmen said that we should "Promote a Vigorous Commerce." Which giving too many advantages to the already wealthy militates against.

Answer 7

"America was "discovered" and developed due to capitalists."
Oh yeah... yes, it was. The capitalists came and found a nation of content natives with no concept of land ownership and taught them that a dog eat dog world is the best way to go.
Then they murdered them all. Thank you capitalism. I will make sure never to forget your blessings.

By the way, did you count the homeless on your way to work? How many of them have the same skin color as the people your great grandparents taught capitalism to? Uhu.

Wasn't capitalism that justified the most brutal form of bondage in human history? Capitalism! at least you are not slaves any more. Capitalism! hope you like the booze. Capitalism! because, who needs a family when you have a television? Capitalism! Hey, we don't pay you 5.50 an hour to be thinking about politics!

Answer 8

Capitalism really didn't take off until the industrial revolution. When America was founded, everything was made by hand, our founding fathers had no idea that an industrial revolution to mass produce goods would take place. Also absent during those times was the theory of communism, so there was no reason to institute capitalism as the state-sponsored form of economy.

Answer 9

Article 11 of the treaty of Tripoli (signed by means of John Adams) says: the government of the U. S. is in no way based on the christian faith. Jefferson talked approximately as the bible a 'dunghill'.

Answer 10

It's not -- though it is implied in the 5th Amendment Takings clause (where it talks about private property ownership) and in the Article 1 Section 10 prohibition against interference with private Contracts.

Those clauses allow private property ownership and private business transactions -- which would allow either capitalism or socialism. The limited enumerated powers implied by the 10th Amendment would push that towards capitalism -- if the 10th Amendment hadn't been gutted by the courts.

Answer 11

It's not in the Constitution but in a series of papers written by Thomas Jefferson instituting a hands - off approach to economic intervention to markets. It's a French term but I will try to spell - Laise Fair.