Was the Constitution made to protect the wealthy?

Question

Charles Beard claims that the constitution's structures are more oriented towards protecting the class interest of elites rather than vindicating the promise of the preamble to "establish justice, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity". Is he right?

Please answer this question with reference to the Constitution's text and structures, rather than with reference to the personal motivations and social identities of the framers.

(Please argue that the Constitution WASN'T specifically made for only the elites)

Answer 1

Well, it was written by elite property owners, so it’s clear that’s the thinking from which it was written. Consider just how citizenship and suffrage had to be redefined by amendments to the Constitution, because it never occurred to the writers of the original text to consider women and people of color to be their equals.

Answer 2

The decision by the framers of the Constitution to promote government "by the people" showed that their intent was to create a system of government that would be controlled by the citizenry and not by elites. Of course, the framers had a far more narrow view of citizenry that we do today. The establishment of laws (or rather the prohibition of certain restrictions) that apply to all people regardless of social rank was groundbreaking at the time. Ideas that all people are entitled to trial by jury, exempt from cruel and unusual punishment and entitled to legal representation are example of the framers intent to make the Constitution inclusive.