Those deemed most virtuous in early US politics were also the largest landowners.

Evidence

This is why the Federalists believed strongly in the requirement for “virtuous men” who could rise above the business of “ordinary people” to govern. Of course, it is not difficult to see that historically, those men assigned highest moral virtue were also the biggest landowners, with the most success in accumulating resources within this very system. It is not by accident that we have seen politics within liberal democratic systems develop into competition among interest groups where those with the most economic power also have the most political influence. — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education, 359

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Elite distrust of ordinary citizens shaped America’s representative form of governance. — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse,…, 353; Elites by the 1780s feared legislatures as threats to property rights — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 673; Widespread private land ownership shaped all American law — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 290

Broader Connections

• Widespread private land ownership shaped all American law #expands (0.78) — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 290
• Elites by the 1780s feared legislatures as threats to property rights #qualifies (0.75) — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 673