Post #3632898

2026-07-06 16:39 UTC

By “radically democratic,” I mean: more widely representative of all adult white men, rather than just propertied elites, and highly responsive to that public of adult white men. The revolutionary-era government of Pennsylvania, for example, featured a single legislative house, an executive committee rather than an individual executive, the abolition of property requirements for voting and holding office, and the direct election of judges. Local governments of this period often featured short terms in office—perhaps just a year for legislators—as well as the power by voters to recall representatives. 2/

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@HeavenlyPossum@kolektiva.social 2026-07-06 16:42

When the war ended, the new US economy experienced a major economic depression. There was no longer any stimulus provided by war demand. Much economic activity had been destroyed by the war. US exporters lost access to British and other European markets. On top of that, the new US government imposed even higher taxes than the British had, in large part to pay off the debt the Continental Congress had accrued during the war. Again, some of this debt was owed to European lenders, but much of it was owed to wealthy American elites—people like George Washington and James Madison who owned considerable land and actual human beings. 3/

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