Life Before The Constitution
By Hunter Thompson
Life as a Worker
I am a shoemaker. I live in Manchester, New Hampshire. Times are hard, as I have just went into $50 worth of debt to get new tools. I figured everything would be fine, as the government pays us paper money. But now that they stopped paying us paper money, money is worth more, I can't sell my shoes, and I could be sent to jail. I heard that the government is writing a new Constitution, and I hope that they help out the farmers and workers like me because we did most of the work, not the rich plantation owners, or the bankers.
Life as an Enslaved African American
My entire family is enslaved and we now live on a tobacco plantation in Virginia in 1787. I thought the Declaration of Independence said that "all men are created equal," but even now I am a slave just because of the color of my skin. I work non-stop all day, and even though my entire family is here, the slave owner could sell them off farther down South and split my family apart. Even if I was free, I would have nothing, so I hope that this Constitution helps out me, my family, and all the slaves.
Life as a Farmer
I am a farmer who owns little land in western Massachusetts. I am in deep debt because my crops failed last year, and I had to buy a new plow and food for my family. Now the bank the lent me the money are demanding their money back, and my state taxes are as high as the clouds. I risked my life in the Revolutionary War against Great Britain and was feeding the army, but what good is freedom if you can't feed your own family and that you can go to jail at any point? All the farmers are fed up with this new government, and are rebelling because of it.