Were the Founding Fathers guilty of treason?
Directions: As you read the play, complete the following task below:
1-Answer all the questions on a piece of paper typed. 20 questions total
2- Answer-“In your opinion, were the Founding Fathers guilty of treason against
the principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence?” on a separate piece
of paper typed. Answer should be three paragraphs at least-opening, body, and
closing. Use evidence from this play and from other materials studied in this unit
to support your point of view. This will be done in class-check
www.schoolnotes.com for the dates.
Cast
 Narrator(s)- three of them
 Thomas Jefferson, Principal author of the Declaration of Independence, 3rd
President of the United States (2 different parts)
 Alexander Hamilton, First Secretary of the Treasury, an author of the
Federalist Papers, member of the Constitutional Convention
 George Washington, President of the Constitutional Convention, 1st
President of the United States
 Abigail Adams, Correspondent, wife of John Adams
 John Adams, 1st Vice-President, 2nd President of the United States
 James Madison, Secretary of the Constitutional Convention, an author of
the Federalist Papers, 4th President of the United States
 Benjamin Franklin, Member of the Continental Congress and the
Constitutional Convention
Act 1
Narrator 1:
You may not know that the authors of the United States Constitution were a
minority group. They were the small number of the rich and powerful, including
lawyers, merchants, shippers, land speculators, plantation owners and
slaveholders. There were no women, Africans, freed or enslaved, or Native
Americans at the Constitutional Convention. Not a single one of the 55 delegates
even represented poor whites in American society.
When the Founding Fathers met in secret in Philadelphia during the
summer of 1787, were they acting as defenders of freedom and liberty or as selfish
rich men interested in saving their own wealth and power? Were they meeting as
supporters of a democratic revolution in American society or were they its
opponents, frightened by what could happen to them.
Narrator 2:
James Madison, in his famous essay known as Federalist #10, defended the
Constitution by explaining how it could to prevent either minority or majority
groups from taking absolute power. Yet in every respect, the group that gathered
to write the Constitution represented the minority of the rich and powerful. Could
they write a Constitution with rules fair to all groups and individuals in the new
country?
It would be unfair to ruin the reputations of these men, calling them traitors
to the American Revolution, simply because they were rich and powerful
WITHOUT a trial. We need proof that their actions were designed to help
themselves. Therefore, we declare this class a court to investigate the motives of
the Founding Fathers when they wrote and agreed the United States Constitution.
George Washington, President of the Constitutional Convention, James Madison,
its Secretary, and Alexander Hamilton, one of the convention's most powerful
members are suspected of treason for going against the ideas for government
described in the Declaration of Independence:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal; that they
are endowed with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted
among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."
Narrator 3
Because of his knowledge of these principles, and because he was not at the
Constitutional Convention, Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of
Independence, will conduct the investigation. Jefferson will question witnesses
about the statements that they made at the time the Constitution was written.
Fellow citizens, in order to make sure that a fair decision is reached, at the end of
the investigation you, the class, will decide whether the Founding Fathers are
innocent or guilty of treason.
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Questions for Act 1
1. What sort of people were the 55 delegates that made up the
Constitutional Convention? Who do they represent: the minority or
the majority?
2. Which three founding fathers will we be investigating? Why are we
investigating them and not others?
3. Who will be our chief investigator? Why is this person the
investigator and not being investigated?
Act 2
T. Jefferson 1:
For our first witness, I call Alexander Hamilton. Mr. Hamilton, please take the
stand.
Mr. Hamilton, you were one of the leaders at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Mr.
Hamilton, why did you support this Constitution?
A. Hamilton:
"We may... be said to have reached the last stage of humiliation. There is barely
anything that can hurt our pride or shame our character which we do not experience. Do
we owe debts to foreigners and to our own citizens? Yes we do. Can we fight back
against the attacks from other countries? We have neither troops, nor the money. Are we
able to sail down the Mississippi River for trade? Spain, the country that controls the
river, does not let us use it. Is trade of importance to national wealth? Yes, but ours is at
the lowest point. Do foreign nations respect us enough to treat us as equals? The
weakness of our government even forbids them to talk with us.”1
T. Jefferson:
I see Mr. Hamilton, but how did you rise so quickly to a position of power in this
country? Did you use your influence as General Washington's assistant during the
Revolutionary War? Or perhaps you made use of the importance of your father-in-law,
the influential and wealthy Philip Schuyler of New York? You practiced law after the
war. Did this help you enrich yourself? Does a new, stronger national government
threaten your economic position or help it? One last question Mr. Hamilton. What is your
view of the Declaration of Independence's claim that "all men are created equal"?
A. Hamilton:
"Inequality will exist as long as liberty existed. It comes from that very liberty itself.
Inequality of property makes up the great and basic difference of the rich and poor in
society."2
"All communities divide themselves into the few and the many. The first are the rich and
the well-born, the other the average mass of the people. The average people are violent
and unsure of what they want; they rarely judge or determine what is right."3
T. Jefferson:
Thank you Mr. Hamilton. You may return to your seat.
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Act 2 Questions
1. What problems does Hamilton see in the United States at this time? Why
does he believe the Constitution would help the U.S. with these problems?
2. According to the charges, how did Hamilton make himself rich and
powerful?
3. Who are the few and who are the many? What makes up the difference
between the two?
Act 3
T. Jefferson 2: Fellow citizens, I hope you enjoyed this talk with a revolutionary leader.
Or would I be more correct to say, this traitor to democracy? For our next witness, I call
that noted slaveholder, planter, soldier, President of the Constitutional Convention, and
first President of the United States of America, the father of our country, George
Washington. Mr. Washington, please take the stand.
Mr. Washington, why did you support the new Constitution?
G. Washington:
"The fears of this Country are hanging by a thread. If nothing had been agreed on by the
Convention, anarchy would soon have take place, the seeds being richly sown in every
soil." 4
"Our country appears to me to be little more than a shadow without the substance.
Indeed, it is one of the strangest things that we should call ourselves a nation, and yet be
afraid to give the rulers of that nation enough powers to direct the affairs of the country.
From the high ground where we stand, we are descending into confusion and darkness."5
T. Jefferson:
But specifically, wasn't it because of your concern about Shay's rebellion in
Massachusetts in 1786? We know that your friend General Henry Knox wrote you
claiming that it was a "rebellion against reason, the principle of all government, and
against the very name of liberty."6
G. Washington:
"If government shrinks, or is unable to enforce its laws, anarchy and confusion will
prevail, and everything will be turned upside down in that State."7
"General Knox...says, their belief is, that the property of the United States….ought to be
the common property of all. And the person that attempts to oppose their belief is an
enemy to equity and justice, and ought to be swept from the face of the earth."8
T. Jefferson:
Don’t these farmers make a good point? Aren’t they acting on the belief that if their
government unfair, it is their right and duty to change their government?
G. Washington
"They may be guided by our enemies the British; started by unfeeling motives, or being
influenced by dishonest ideas."9
"Know exactly what they aim at doing. If they have real complaints, we will deal with
them if possible. If they have not, we will use the force of government against them at
once. Let the wheel of government then be braced and held with a steady hand, and
every disobedience of the Constitution be punished."10
T. Jefferson:
Now I think I understand your reasoning Mr. Washington. Ordinary people like the
Massachusetts farmers have to obey the laws. But for the rich and powerful, you can
change the government whenever you need to.
G. Washington:
"We are fast verging to anarchy and confusion. What stronger evidence can be given for
the importance of a new government than these rebellions? Thirteen state governments
pulling against each other, and all tugging at the federal head, will soon bring ruin on the
whole...."11
"The better kind of people, being disgusted with these conditions, will have their minds
prepared for any change whatever. Pray to God that wise measures may be taken in time
to avoid this result."12
T. Jefferson:
"The better kind of people," are they your only concern. Mr. Washington? What about the
ordinary people? Don't you trust the judgment of ordinary Americans?
G. Washington:
"Ordinary men, when left to themselves, are unfit for their own government. I am
mortified beyond expression when I view the clouds that have spread over the brightest
morning that ever dawned upon any Country."13
"We have probably had too high an opinion of people in forming our government.
Experience has taught us that men will not accept, and carry out, the best ideas for them
without being forced to follow what is best."14
T. Jefferson:
But who has this power to force ordinary men to follow what is best for them? It sounds
to me like you would prefer rule by the rich elite, not the common man. Mr. Washington,
you argue that your support for the Constitution is based on ideas of freedom and
equality. I mean no disrespect sir, but I have a serious problem with your testimony. Mr.
Washington. Please step down.
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Act 3 Questions
1. What problems does Washington see in the United States at this time? Why
does Washington support the U.S. Constitution?
2. What is Washington’s opinion of the farmers that took part of Shay’s
Rebellion? Does he agree or disagree with them?
3. Does Washington trust the judgments of ordinary men? Who does he think
should lead the nation?
Act 4
T. Jefferson 3:
For our next witness, I call Abigail Adams to the stand. As a woman, Mrs. Adams
was not allowed to hold an official position either in the colonial government or
the new government of our republic. However, while her husband John was
overseas as a U.S. official to Britain and France, Mrs. Adams' letters kept him
informed of events at home. I believe that this makes her an expert witness, highly
qualified to explain the elite's side of the story of the events leading up to the
writing of the Constitution. Mrs. Adams, please take the stand.
Mrs. Adams, what do you see as the cause of Shay's Rebellion, the farmer's revolt
in Western Massachusetts that so frightened George Washington? I am
particularly interested in a letter that you wrote me in which you mentioned "mad
cry of the mob."
A. Adams:
"With regard to the problems in my home state of Massachusetts which you ask
about, I wish I could say that the report had exaggerated them. It is too true, that
they have gone overboard, to the point that they managed to close the courts in
several counties. Ignorant, restless criminals, without conscience or principles,
have led a crazy group to follow them, under the lie of fixing problems do not
exist except in their imaginations.”
T. Jefferson:
Criminals you say! Ignorant, restless criminals! Mrs. Adams, aren't these the same
brave men who fought against the British, who saved your wealth and way of life?
What alternative did they have Mrs. Adams? Isn't it true that many rights,
including voting, was limited to large property holders? Mrs. Adams, weren't
these Revolutionary War veterans losing their lands and facing prison? You claim
that their problems have no existence but in their imaginations. What were they
crying out for then?
A. Adams:
“Some of them were crying out for more paper money to pay off debt, some for an
equal amounts of property, some were for wiping out all debts, others complaining
that the U.S. Congress was a useless branch of government. By this list you will
see the reasons that started this rebellion and the need there is of the wisest and
most forceful methods to end it. Instead of that freedom spirit which you approve,
these rebels are for weakening the foundation of government, and destroying the
whole thing at once."15
T. Jefferson:
Ms. Adams, can you honestly claim that they were calling for anarchy and the
destruction of government? Or were they simply demanding justice?
Mr. Adams, Mr. John Adams, do you wish to defend your wife? I'm sorry if I have
offended you by attacking your wife. Mr. Adams, as the second President of the
United States, you have every right to testify. Thank you Mrs. Adams. You are
excused.
John Adams, please take the stand.
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Act 4 Questions
1. Why is Abigail Adams being called to the stand?
2. What is Adams’s opinion of the farmers that took part of Shay’s
Rebellion?
3. What is your opinion of these farmers? Are they calling for anarchy
and the destruction of government, or were they simply demanding
justice? Explain your answer.
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Act 5
T. Jefferson 4:
Mr. Adams, which do you think is more important: protection for
the private property of the rich or democratic ideas of government?
Wealth or justice? An unfair question Mr. Adams? Didn't you
write that "property is surely a right of mankind as liberty"?
J. Adams:
"Property is surely a right of mankind as liberty. Perhaps, at first,
something-shame or fear or religion-would keep the poor from
attacking the rich but the time would not be long before courage
would come, and the majority of the poor will be in support for
dividing all the property among them. The moment that idea is
introduced into society, that property is not as important as the
laws of God, anarchy and tyranny start."16
T. Jefferson:
You have some weird ideas Mr. Adams. You fear the poor will
take the wealth of the rich. You claim property as a sacred law of
God, but what about the liberty of those without property? Don't
they have the natural right to create a government to serve their
interests? Or are god's blessings only reserved for the rich and
powerful? I have no further questions Mr. Adams. Please return to
your seat.
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Act 5 Questions
1. Why is John Adams being called to the stand?
2. What does Adams value more: Protection of property or
democratic ideas?
3. Why does Adams want to protect property? What would
the majority do to property? What does he compare the
right to property to exactly?
Act 6
T. Jefferson 5: Citizens, I want to call on the last of the three men who is
being investigated today; the Secretary of the Constitutional Convention, the
fourth President of the United states, the author of Federalist #10, the man
considered by many to be the key influence behind a number of the
compromises that were written into the Constitution, James Madison. Mr.
Madison, please take the stand. Mr. Madison, is it true that you argued that
the main purpose of government is to protect property – not liberty, not the
democratic rights of man, but property?
J. Madison:
"The protection of the rights of property is the main purpose of government.
From this the possession of different kinds of property immediately results,
and from this a division of society into different interests and parties starts."
17
T. Jefferson:
Mr. Madison, correct me if I am wrong. Aren't you arguing that the job of
government is to support economic and class divisions in society, into rich,
middle, and poor? And to protect the ability of the wealthy to keep the vast
wealth of the nation to themselves?
J. Madison:
"The most common and strong source of division has been the unequal
distribution of property. Those who hold property and those who are without
property have ever formed opposite interests in society." 18
T. Jefferson:
While I agree that this is an accurate description of our government the way
you and your friends designed it at the Constitutional Convention, I
challenge whether the main job of the government should be to protect the
property of the rich against the rest of the nation. Are you saying that you
reject the idea expressed in the Declaration of Independence that "it is the
right of the people... to institute new government ... that seems most likely to
effect their safety and happiness?" Mr. Madison, was the theme of freedom
and change of the war for Independence all a lie? Did the poor fight to make
you their new masters, solely so your wealth could be protected?
J. Madison:
"A pure democracy is no cure for division. A republic promises the cure for
which we are seeking." 19
T. Jefferson:
But Mr. Madison, who is seeking a republic? It can’t be the poor. Is it the
rich? Mr. Madison, the disease you fear is democracy -- rule by the
majority. I am forced to disagree with you! No further questions Mr.
Madison. Please return to your seat.
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Questions
1. According to Madison, what is the first purpose of the
government?
2. Why would those without property want to go against those with
property? Explain.
3. Why would Madison fear rule of the majority? What could the
majority do to the wealth and power of the rich?
Act 7
T. Jefferson 6:
Fellow citizens. I want to close this investigation by calling
Benjamin Franklin as a witness. Mr. Franklin participated in both
the Continental Congress that approved the Declaration of
Independence and the Constitutional Convention. While he
supported the Constitution, Mr. Franklin has always been doubtful
about the motivation of its framers. Mr. Franklin, please take the
stand.
Mr. Franklin, what is your advice to this court?
B. Franklin:
"Few men in public affairs act from a mere view of the good of
their country, whatever they may pretend; and though their activity
may bring real good to some in their country, they do not act
because they want to help others."20
T. Jefferson:
Thank you Mr. Franklin. Fellow citizens. The future of the nation
now rests in your hands.
______________________________________________________________________________
Questions
1. Why is Benjamin Franklin being called to the stand?
2. What is Franklin’s opinion of the framers of the
Constitution? Explain.
1 Federalist #15 in Clinton Rossiter, ed., The Federalist Papers (NY: New American Library,
1961), pp. 106-107.
2 James Madison, Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787. Athens, OH: Ohio
University, 1966, p. 196.
3 Max Farrand, Records of the Federal Convention, Vol I. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ., 1911, p.
298.
4 George Washington, Letter to Patrick Henry, September 24, 1787, in George Washington, The
Writings of George Washington, vol. 29, ed., John C. Fitzpartrick (Washington: DC: Government
Printing Office, 1939), p. 278.
5 Washington, Letter to James Warren, October 7, 1785, Fitzpartrick, vol. 28, p. 289.
6 Washington, Letter to James Madison, November 5, 1786, Fitzpartrick, vol. 29, p. 51.
7 Washington, Letter to Henry Knox, February 3, 1787, Fitzpartrick, vol. 29, p. 151.
8 Washington, Letter to James Madison, November 5, 1786, Fitzpartrick, vol. 29, p. 51
9 Washington, Letter to David Humphreys, December 26, 1786, Fitzpartrick, vol. 29, p. 125.
10 Washington, Letter to Henry Lee, October 31, 1786, Fitzpartrick, vol. 29, p. 33.
11 Washington, Letter to James Madison, November 5, 1786, Fitzpartrick, vol. 29, p. 51.
12 Washington, Letter to the Secretary for Foreign Affairs (John Jay), August 1, 1786,
Fitzpatrick, vol. 28, p. 501.
13 Washington, Letter to Henry Lee, October 31, 1786, Fitzpartrick, vol. 29, p. 33.
14 Washington, Letter to the Secretary for Foreign Affairs (John Jay), August 1, 1786,
Fitzpatrick, vol. 28, p. 501.
15 Abigail Adams to Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson Papers, ed., Julian Boyd, Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University, 1955, cited in Bernard Feder, Viewpoints: USA (American Book Co.,
1967), p. 44-45.
16 John Adams, Works, ed. C.F. Adams, Boston: Little, Brown, 1851, cited in Feder, p. 59.
17 Federalist #10, Rossiter, p. 78.
18 Federalist #10, Rossiter, p. 79.
19Federalist #10, Rossiter, p. 81.
20 W.B. Munro, The Invisible Government, NY: Macmillian, 1928, cited in Feder, p. 60.