Elites by the 1780s feared legislatures as threats to property rights

Evidence

As early as the 1780s, some prominent Americans came to the conclusion that the local legislatures were “major threats to individual liberties” and the property rights of the political minority, and a source of injustice, rather than the opposite. — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 673

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Those deemed most virtuous in early US politics were also the largest landowners. — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse,…, 359; Elites fear change because it can only threaten their status — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 740

Broader Connections

• Elites fear change because it can only threaten their status #expands (0.75) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 740