. In his essay "Framing the Constitution," historian Charles A. Beard described the Constitutional
Convention as follows:
It was a truly remarkable assembly of men that gathered in Philadelphia on May 17,
1787, to undertake the work of reconstructing the American system of government....
The makers of the Constitution represented the solid, conservative, commercial and
financial interests of the country.... [T]he members of that assembly were not seeking
to realize any fine notions about democracy and equality, but were striving with all the
resources of political wisdom at their command to set up a system of government that
would be stable and efficient, safeguarded on the one hand against the possibilities of
despotism and on the other against the onslaught of majorities. ... Madison doubtless
summed up in a brief sentence the general opinion of the convention when he said that
to secure private rights against minority factions, and at the same time to preserve the
spirit and form of popular government, was the great object to which their inquiries had
been directed. They were anxious above everything else to safeguard the rights of private
property against any leveling tendencies on the part of the propertyless masses.48

A) describe the air there opinion of the founding fathers goal in drafting and constitution
B) in the context of the passage explain how the constitution could be used to support the authors opinion
C) explain how the constitution could be used to refute the authors opinion